What Are Stars?
Why do stars twinkle?
Duration: 1:48
Twinkle, twinkle, little star... but what is a star, really? Join our little explorer under the night sky and find out!
In short
A star is a giant ball of hot, glowing gas, far, far away in space. Our Sun is a star too: it looks big and bright because it is the closest star to the Earth. The other stars are so far away that they look like tiny dots of light, and some of them are even bigger than our Sun. Stars come in different colors: the hottest stars shine blue and white, and cooler stars glow orange or red. Our Sun is a yellow star. Long ago, people connected the stars with lines to draw pictures in the sky, called constellations; one famous star picture, the Big Dipper, looks like a giant spoon. During the day, the stars are still there, but the Sun is so bright that we cannot see them. Stars twinkle because their light travels through the moving air around the Earth, so it wiggles and sparkles. The best place to see the stars is far from city lights, on a clear night, with a grown-up.
What you will learn
- A star is a giant ball of hot, glowing gas, far away in space
- Our Sun is a star too: the closest one to Earth
- Why the other stars look like tiny dots, and some are bigger than our Sun
- Star colors: blue and white are the hottest, orange and red are cooler
- Constellations, like the Big Dipper
- Why we cannot see the stars during the day
- Why stars twinkle
Let's talk about it
Questions to ask after watching, at home or in class. Tap a question to see a short answer.
What is a star made of?
Hot, glowing gas: a star is a giant ball of it.
Which star is the closest to the Earth?
Our Sun!
Why can we not see stars during the day?
Because the Sun is so bright that it hides them.
What the narrator says
Everything the narrator says in the video, to read along, to practice English, or to use in class.
Read the full text
Hello again, little explorer! Tonight, we are going to look up at the stars!
Twinkle, twinkle, little star... But what is a star, really? Let's find out!
Here is the first secret. A star is a giant ball of hot, glowing gas, far, far away in space.
And guess what? Our Sun is a star too! It looks big and bright because it is the closest star to the Earth.
The other stars are so far away that they look like tiny dots of light. Some of them are even bigger than our Sun!
Stars come in different colors! The hottest stars shine blue and white, and cooler stars glow orange or red. Our Sun is a yellow star.
Long ago, people connected the stars with lines, to draw pictures in the sky. These star pictures are called constellations. One famous star picture, the Big Dipper, looks like a giant spoon!
During the day, the stars are still there, but the Sun is so bright that we cannot see them.
Why do stars twinkle? Their light travels through the moving air around the Earth, so it wiggles and sparkles!
The best place to see the stars is far from city lights, on a clear night, with a grown-up.
So now you know the secret! Stars are giant balls of glowing gas, and our Sun is one of them.
How many stars can you count tonight? Great job, little explorer! See you next time, for a new adventure at Curious Kids Lab!
