////////////////////////////////////// //Life Story of a Star Tour // //(c) 1999 Meade Instruments ////////////////////////////////////// TITLE "A Star's Life" AUTO SELECT TEXT "Introduction" "Stars, like everything else in the" "universe are born, live out their lives and die. Stars have" "extremely long lifetimes, making it impossible for a human to" "observe an entire stellar life cycle. But, you can look around" "the sky and see examples of young stars, middle age stars and" "old stars, all in one night." AUTO SELECT TEXT "The Nursery" "Stars are born within a huge cloud of gas" "and dust. This giant cloud is called a diffuse nebula. A diffuse" "nebula is illuminated by the newly formed stars. The stars heat up the" "gas and cause it to glow. Press MODE to view a ""stellar nursery""." AUTO SLEW ON PICK ONE AUTO SELECT USER 05:38:42 -69d06m "The Nursery" "The Tarantula" "Nebula is an example of a stellar nursery. Press MODE to continue" "the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 06:32:18 05d03m "The Nursery" "The Rosette Nebula" "is an example of a stellar nursery. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 05:35:24 -05d27m "The Nursery" "The Great Orion" "Nebula is an example of a stellar nursery. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 18:02:36 -23d02m "The Nursery" "The Trifid Nebula" "is an example of a stellar nursery. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 18:03:48 -24d23m "The Nursery" "The Lagoon Nebula" "is an example of a stellar nursery. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 18:18:48 -13d47m "The Nursery" "The Eagle Nebula" "is an example of a stellar nursery. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 18:20:48 -16d11m "The Nursery" "The Swan Nebula" "is an example of a stellar nursery. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT TEXT "The Nursery" "There are currently no bright stellar" "nurseries visible. Press MODE to continue the tour." PICK END AUTO SELECT TEXT "Kindergarten" "As more and more stars form within a diffuse" "nebula, there is less and less gas and dust. Finally, there isn't enough" "material left to form any more stars. Instead of a cloud of gas and dust," "there is a loose grouping of newly formed stars. This young group of stars is" "called a galactic or open cluster. In a way, it's a stellar version of" "kindergarten. The stars within an open cluster may drift apart over time. " "Press MODE to view a stellar kindergarten." PICK ONE AUTO SELECT USER 02:42:00 42d47m "Kindergarten" "M34 is an example of" "a ""stellar kindergarten"". Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 03:47:00 24d07m "Kindergarten" "The Pleiades are an example of" "a ""stellar kindergarten"". Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 05:36:06 34d08m "Kindergarten" "M36 is an example of" "a ""stellar kindergarten"". Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 06:47:00 -20d44m "Kindergarten" "M41 is an example of" "a ""stellar kindergarten"". Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 07:58:18 -60d52m "Kindergarten" "NGC 2516 is an example of" "a ""stellar kindergarten"". Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 08:40:06 19d59m "Kindergarten" "The Praesepe are an example of" "a ""stellar kindergarten"". Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 10:43:12 -64d24m "Kindergarten" "Caldwell 102 is an example of" "a ""stellar kindergarten"". Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 11:06:24 -58d40m "Kindergarten" "Caldwell 91 is an example of" "a ""stellar kindergarten"". Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 12:53:36 -60d20m "Kindergarten" "The Jewel Box is an" "example of a ""stellar kindergarten"". Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 15:05:42 -55d36m "Kindergarten" "Caldwell 88 is an example of" "a ""stellar kindergarten"". Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 17:53:54 -34d49m "Kindergarten" "M7 is an example of" "a ""stellar kindergarten"". Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 23:24:12 61d35m "Kindergarten" "M52 is an example of" "a ""stellar kindergarten"". Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT TEXT "Kindergarten" "There are currently no bright open clusters" "visible in the sky. Press MODE to continue the tour." PICK END AUTO SELECT TEXT "Middle Age" "Just about every star in the sky that" "you can see without the aid of a telescope is a middle aged star." "Stars spend millions, billions, or even trillions of years at this" "stage, contently burning their fuel, shining brightly in the sky." "Press MODE to view a middle aged star." PICK ONE AUTO SELECT USER 00:00:82 29d05m26s "Middle Age" "Alpheratz is an" "example of a middle aged star. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 01:37:42 -57d14m12s "Middle Age" "Achernar is an" "example of a middle aged star. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 05:16:41 45d59m53s "Middle Age" "Capella is an" "example of a middle aged star. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 06:23:57 -52d41m45s "Middle Age" "Canopus is an" "example of a middle aged star. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 06:45:00 -16d42m58s "Middle Age" "Sirius is an" "example of a middle aged star. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 10:00:82 11d58m02s "Middle Age" "Regulus is an" "example of a middle aged star. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 12:26:35 -63d05m57s "Middle Age" "Acrux is an" "example of a middle aged star. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 14:15:39 19d10m57s "Middle Age" "Arcturus is an" "example of a middle aged star. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 19:50:47 00d85m20s "Middle Age" "Altair is an" "example of a middle aged star. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 23:04:45 15d12m19s "Middle Age" "Markab is an" "example of a middle aged star. Press MODE to continue the tour." PICK END AUTO SELECT TEXT "Retirement" "As a star begins to run out of fuel," "its outer layers swell to huge sizes. As it swells, the star's" "surface cools off, giving it a red glow. A star like our Sun" "will become a red giant. A much larger star swells to become a" "red supergiant. Press MODE to see an example of a star in retirement." PICK ONE AUTO SELECT USER 04:35:55 16d30m33s "Retirement" "Aldebaran is a" "red giant star, an example of a star in retirement. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 05:55:10 07d24m25s "Retirement" "Betelgeuse is a" "red supergiant star, an example of a star in retirement. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 16:29:24 -26d25m55s "Retirement" "Antares is a" "red supergiant star, an example of a star in retirement. Press MODE to" "continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 17:14:38 14d23m25s "Retirement" "Rasalgethi is a red" "giant star, an example of a star in retirement. Press MODE to continue" "the tour." AUTO SELECT TEXT "Retirement" "There are currently no bright red" "giant or red supergiant stars visible. Press MODE to continue the tour." PICK END AUTO SELECT TEXT "End of the Line" "When a star like our Sun uses up" "most of the fuel in its core, it shrugs off its outer layer and" "begins to shrink. The outer layer moves away, forming a" "sphere of material around the collapsing star and giving it a hazy" "round appearance in the sky. These objects are called planetary" "nebula, because their appearance reminded the first observers of the" "distant planets in our solar system. In reality, they have nothing" "to do with planets at all. They are merely the last phase of a" "sun-like star's life. The collapsing star in the center will shrink" "to about the size of Earth, then gradually cool off and fade to" "black. Press MODE to view a planetary nebula." PICK ONE AUTO SELECT USER 07:29:12 20d55m "End of the Line" "The Eskimo Nebula" "is an example of a planetary nebula. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 10:07:42 -40d26m "End of the Line" "Caldwell 74" "is an example of a planetary nebula. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 18:53:36 33d02m "End of the Line" "The Ring Nebula" "is an example of a planetary nebula. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 19:59:36 22d43m "End of the Line" "The Dumbbell" "Nebula is an example of a planetary nebula. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 21:04:12 -11d22m "End of the Line" "The Saturn" "Nebula is an example of a planetary nebula. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 22:29:36 -20d48m "End of the Line" "The Helix Nebula" "is an example of a planetary nebula. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 07:41:48 -14d44m "End of the Line" "NGC 2438" "is an example of a planetary nebula. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 17:13:42 -37d06m "End of the Line" "The Bug Nebula" "is an example of a planetary nebula. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT TEXT "End of the Line" "There are currently no bright" "planetary nebula visible. Press MODE to continue the tour." PICK END AUTO SELECT TEXT "Out With A Bang" "Massive stars many times larger" "than our Sun will end their lives in a tremendous supernova" "explosion, the most powerful explosion in the universe. This" "explosion literally rips the star apart, leaving behind a cloud of" "debris called a supernova remnant. Press MODE to view a supernova" "remnant." PICK ONE AUTO SELECT USER 05:34:30 22d01m "Out With A Bang" "The Crab Nebula" "is an example of a supernova remnant. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 20:45:47 30d43m "Out With A Bang" "The Veil Nebula" "is an example of a supernova remnant. Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT TEXT "Out With A Bang" "There are currently no supernova" "remnants visible. Press MODE to continue the tour." PICK END AUTO SELECT TEXT "The Ultimate End" "After a supernova explosion," "there is debris left over. This debris is pulled on by its own" "gravity, causing it to collapse in on itself. The more debris, the" "stronger the gravity, and the faster the collapse. If there is" "enough debris left over, its gravity is so strong that nothing can" "stop its collapse. The debris is squeezed together until everything" "that was left over from the star has been squeezed into a single" "point. This point makes up the black hole. The gravity at this" "point is so strong that nothing can escape from it, not even light." "A black hole represents the ultimate end for the largest stars in" "the galaxy. Press MODE to see where a black hole may be located." PICK ONE AUTO SELECT USER 19:15:06 10d57m "The Ultimate End" "Located in this" "dark patch of sky is thought to be black hole GRS 1915-105." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 20:24:00 33d52m "The Ultimate End" "Located in this" "dark patch of sky is thought to be black hole V404 Cygni." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT USER 19:58:12 35d12m "The Ultimate End" "Located in this" "dark patch of sky is thought to be black hole Cygnus X-1." "Press MODE to continue the tour." AUTO SELECT TEXT "The Ultimate End" "There are no potential black holes" "currently visible. Press MODE to continue." PICK END AUTO SLEW OFF AUTO SELECT TEXT "Tour's End" "You have just witnessed an example of a star's" "life. Just like life on Earth, everything has a beginning, a middle and end," "including this tour. Hope you enjoyed it!" ////////////////////////////////////////////////// //Life Story of a Star Tour //written by Melanie Melton for Meade Instruments //(c) 1999 Meade Instruments ////////////////////////////////////////////////// #END