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Loading contentA star is a luminous sphere of plasma bound together by its own gravity. In its core, pressure and temperature are high enough to drive nuclear fusion, which releases the energy that makes the star shine.
Stars vary enormously in mass, temperature, and color, and a star's mass largely sets how it lives and how it ends. Our Sun is a fairly typical star and the closest one to Earth, which is why it appears so much brighter than any other.
Stars gather by the billions into galaxies. When some massive stars die they explode as supernovae, and the most massive can leave behind black holes.
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A gravitationally bound system of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter.
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The explosive death of certain stars.
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The distance light travels in one year — a measure of distance.
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A round body that orbits the Sun and has cleared its orbit.