Page 308 - (DK) I Can’t Believe It! 2

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Starlight is
TRUE or
FALSE?
millions of years old

When you look up at the stars, you’re seeing
their original light created many thousands or

even millions of years before. A light-year is the
distance light travels in a year—a mind-boggling
5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion km), so the light of a

star millions of light-years away has taken
millions of years to reach us.

The light we see from
The atmosphere these stars left before
surrounding Earth the Great Pyramid was
makes stars appear built in Egypt.
to twinkle in the sky. JEWEL BOX

STAR CYCLE million years old years old
Cluster of stars
about 10 million

NEBULA
TARANTULA
Very young stars,
between one and two

A star is born in a cloud of gas
and dust. When nuclear reactions
start, the star releases energy and
shines steadily. It swells into a red
giant or a supergiant. Most stars
die slowly, but the massive ones
explode as brilliant supernovas.

US_306-307_187013_Stars.indd 306 20/12/17 5:19 pm