Power Cuts and Birth of a Star

For the past few days, the EB department in Chennai was so gracious that they supplied electricity for only 12 hrs a day. Apparently, the power cut happens only during the nights! What else can i do but to climb upstairs, enjoy the natural breeze, and gaze at the winking stars! Stars have been a great inspiration for not only many astronomers but also for poets and other creative artists like me (wink wink).

For centuries, human kind has been admiring the beauty of stars and researching on its birth and existence for more than a few decades now. If you look close, you will find that not all stars look alike. Some might have a blue glow and some, a yellow to red glow. I personally love the blue blinkers! Some stars even look a bit smudged (…that it triggers a confusion about my vision). This is because there are more than ten types of stars in our galaxy. They are dwarf stars, yellow dwarfs, red dwarf, red giant, blue giant, super giant, white dwarf, brown dwarf, neutron star, etc.

Many factors determine the color and brightness of a star, the nature of its birth plays a major role in this. The birth of each and every star is unique and fascinating. For example, huge clouds of hydrogen gas or dust are brought together by the effect of solar winds. Surprisingly, this huge mass of hydrogen grows smaller and smaller by means of the weak gravitational force that exist between the hydrogen molecules. It is because of this gravitational pull the hydrogen particles move closer and closer, which ultimately increases the total density and thus gives birth to a protostar.

This process continues until the pressure in the core of the star reaches millions and millions of degrees and finally implodes. This implosion is mainly due to the thermonuclear reaction that occurs inside the hydrogen mass. Thus, every new star is born with a big bright bang!

Finally… if the power cut continues for long… I guess I will become an amateur astronomer! ;)