|
The Question
(Submitted March 04, 1997)
Why does a star shine. Please answer at middle school level.
The Answer
Stars are giant balls of glowing gas. Stars shine because the gas inside them
is so hot that a process called "nuclear fusion" takes place. Nuclear
fusion is where 2 atoms come together (or "fuse") to form a different kind
of atom; this process gives off a lot of energy that we can see as light.
You can find more about stars, what makes them shine, their life cycles, and
more in our StarChild web site at:
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/universe_level1/stars.html
and
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/universe_level2/stars.html
I am sure that one of these 2 different levels of describing "what makes
stars shine" will be what you need!
| 
