(Courtesy to Microsoft Encarta for this photograph.)

As you look to the sky on a clear night, you see millions and maybe even billions of stars. Most of those stars you see are in the Milky Way galaxy. This is the galaxy that the Solar System and where you live in. Stars come in all shapes in sizes in these galaxies. Many galaxies form clusters of stars, and many clusters form superclusters. These galaxies and superclusters are many, many light years long.

There many variations in size of stars. Our Sun is a relatively small star that is a yellow. There are many varying hues of color ranging from red to white. The red stars are cooler than the white stars. Stars burn gas and they continue through life orbiting around the center of their galaxy.

Click here to continue on to the next lesson (Life Cycle of a Star).
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