ExploraTour - How to Build a Star

Go outside tonight and look up at the star-filled night sky or feel the sun's rays on your face as dawn arrives. When you lift your face into the dawn you feel the sun's warmth, yet have you ever thought about how far away the sun actually is from you - an incredible 93 million miles away.

Even more amazing is the fact that enough star light reaches your eyes to be able to see the stars when the nearest star is 4 light years away. Where do stars get their awesome power? The answer is light years away from anything you've ever experienced on Earth.

Continue on to discover what goes into making a star ....


Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!

Our online store includes a wide range of Nature's Own mineral specimens, as well as a mineral and fossil collection perfect for the classroom.

You might also be interested in:

The Earth Scientist, Volume XXV, Issue 4, Winter 2009

This special issue of The Earth Scientist, which focuses on Earth System science, was sponsored by The Pennsylvania State University TESSE Team. The issue features the work of middle and high school teachers, and graduate and undergraduate students who have participated in the TESSE program from 2006 - 2009....more

ExploraTour - Looking at the World in a Different Light

Even though the sleeping man is no longer on the bed, you can still see where he was lying down. The heat from his body warmed up the bed sheets which are now radiating infrared light toward your eyes....more

ExploraTour - Looking at the World in a Different Light

All warm objects (not just people) radiate in the infrared. Warmer objects give off more infrared radiation. Very hot objects radiate other types of light in addition to infrared. Click on the picture...more

ExploraTour - Looking at the World in a Different Light

Your eye is a wonderful detector of visible light. Different frequencies of light produce different sensations in the eye which we interpret as colors. Our eyes detect light by using light sensitive components...more

ExploraTour - Looking at the World in a Different Light

Imagine you found a pair of special glasses that not only gave you telescopic vision but gave you the ability to see all forms of radiant energy. The universe in visible light contains all the familiar...more

ExploraTour - Looking at the World in a Different Light

This is a volcano on the island of Miyake in Japan. It has erupted, sending hot lava and ash into the air, a total of ten times. The time after one eruption until the next occurred was about twenty years...more

ExploraTour - Looking at the World in a Different Light

This is a picture of a galaxy in visible light. A galaxy is a large number of stars, some like our sun, some bigger, some smaller and all moving together through space. This galaxy is called Centaurus...more

ExploraTour - Looking at the World in a Different Light

This is a plant in Gary, Indiana where power is made. We use power to run things like television sets, radios, lights, and microwave ovens. The picture looks very strange because it was taken in infrared....more

Shop Windows to the Universe

These rare charoite pendant and earrings are available in our online store, along with other jewelry, minerals, fossils, classroom materials, and household items.

Generous sponsorship of Windows to the Universe is provided by the Hewlett Foundation, the American Geological Institute, the American Geophysical Union, the National Science Foundation, NASA, NCAR, and the CISM and CMMAP projects. NASA CMMAP AGU CISM NCAR Hewlett AGI NSF