Did you know that stars, like humans, also have a life cycle? A star is born from a nebula, a cloud of gas and dust in space. As gravity causes the particles in the nebula to come together, they eventually form a protostar. Once the protostar's core reaches a temperature of about 10 million degrees Celsius, nuclear fusion begins, and the star is born. It enters the main sequence phase, where it steadily burns hydrogen fuel for billions of years. After exhausting its hydrogen fuel, a star will expand into a red giant. In this phase, the star fuses heavier elements in its core until it runs out of fuel. A low to medium-sized star like our Sun will then shed its outer layers, forming a planetary nebula, and eventually become a white dwarf. For more massive stars, they may explode in a supernova, leaving behind either a neutron star or a black hole. These remnants continue to interact with other objects in space, eventually merging with other stars or celestial bodies to create new nebulae and restart the cycle of star formation. Understanding the life cycle of stars is crucial for astronomers as it helps us unravel the mysteries of the universe and how galaxies are formed and evolve over time.