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Stars live for a very long time compared to human lifetimes. Your great, great grandparents saw the same stars as you will see tonight (if it's clear). Our lifetimes are measured in years. Star lifetimes are measured in millions of years. Even though star timescales are enormous, it is possible to know how stars are born, live, and die. This chapter covers the stages a star will go through in its life and how it was figured out. The last part of the chapter will cover the remains of stars, white dwarfs, neutron stars, and the Hollywood favorite: black holes. The vocabulary terms are in boldface.
last updated: 24 May 2001