Scientists use big, special telescopes to look at stars! 🌟 Telescopes help them see stars that are very, very far away. Some telescopes are on the ground, and some are in space, like the Hubble Space Telescope. They take pictures of stars and study their colors and brightness.
Stars are like big balls of fire, but they are so far that they look like tiny dots in the sky. Scientists also use computers to learn more about stars!
Scientists study stars using telescopes, both on Earth and in space. 🌌 Earth telescopes are placed in high, dark places to avoid city lights. Space telescopes, like the James Webb Telescope, give even clearer pictures because there’s no air to blur the view.
Stars give off light in different colors, and scientists use special tools to split this light into a rainbow (called a spectrum). This helps them learn what stars are made of and how hot they are! They also track how stars move and change over time.
Scientists use advanced tools and methods to study stars. 🔭 Optical telescopes collect visible light, while radio telescopes detect radio waves from space. Space telescopes (like Hubble and James Webb) avoid Earth’s atmosphere, which distorts light, giving sharper images.
Spectroscopy splits starlight into spectra, revealing elements like hydrogen and helium in stars. Astronomers also measure a star’s brightness, distance (using parallax), and motion. Supercomputers simulate star life cycles—from birth in nebulae to death as supernovae or black holes.
Some stars have planets orbiting them! Scientists use the "transit method" to find these exoplanets by noting tiny dips in a star’s light when a planet passes in front.