How did stars first appear in the universe? There is a theory by some scientists called the BIG BANG theory. It went something like this: Scientists think that about ten to twenty billion years ago, the universe was created when there was a huge cosmic explosion. This incredible explosion tossed matter in every imaginable direction. Now that is something to think about!

After this gigantic explosion, it took another 300,000 years for the stable hydrogen and helium atoms to become something. They began to stick together into some gas clouds called nebulae. The hydrogen and helium atoms began to attract more and more and more to each other until they became really heavy and hot. At this point they just blew up into a huge nuclear reaction. The hydrogen atoms began to group together and the clouds changed into burning balls of a hot, hot, hot fire. It was at this point that the very first stars were created.

To this day and as you read this article, stars are being made and dying all over the entire galaxy. Isn't that amazing? The Sun is one of these stars, and it is often called the parent star. The star was not one of the original stars in the Universe. Scientists think it was born about ten billion years after the Big Bang. Right now the Sun is our main heating and light source. The Sun like all stars will die out someday. What will we have for our heat and light source then? Nobody knows when this will happen except that it won't be for a long, long time. Thank goodness for that!