Star: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
- calendarTime determination by stars, Sun, and Moon
- How Do We Know How Far Away the Stars Are?
- MigrationBirds
- navigationDirection finding
- Stellar classification
- The life cycle of a star
- Solar systemTwentieth-century developments
- What’s the difference between planets and stars?
- Why are some stars brighter than others?
- Why do stars twinkle?
- AstronomyStudy of the stars
- Accretion disk
- Accretion diskAccretors and mass supply
- Brown dwarf
- constellation
- high-pressure phenomena
- CosmologyFinite or infinite?
- H II region
- Milky Way GalaxyStars and stellar populations
- Molecular cloudFormation of stars
- isotopeElemental and isotopic abundances
- chemical elementOrigin of the elements
- chemical elementElement production in massive objects
- physical scienceEvolution of stars and formation of chemical elements
- parallaxStellar parallax
- AstronomyDetermining astronomical distances
- plasmaExtraterrestrial forms
- Milky Way GalaxyRadial velocities
- Stellar association
- Williamina Paton Stevens Fleming
- X-ray source
- Viktor Ambartsumian
- Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel
- James Bradley
- Annie Jump Cannon
- Nicolaus CopernicusEarly life and education
- Arthur EddingtonPhilosophy of science
- Edmond HalleyEarly life
- Johannes Hevelius
- HipparchusSolar and lunar theory
- Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn
- Edward Arthur Milne
- Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
- Henry Norris Russell
- Pietro Angelo Secchi
- Bengt Strömgren
Additional Reading
Eric Chaisson and Steve McMillan, Astronomy Today, 5th ed. (2005); Neil F. Comins and William J. Kaufmann III, Discovering the Universe, 7th ed. (2005); and R.C. Bless, Discovering the Cosmos (1996), contain good introductory accounts of the properties of stars. Lawrence H. Aller, Atoms, Stars, and Nebulae, 3rd ed. (1991), is a semipopular work emphasizing analyses of starlight, stellar spectroscopy, and evolution. Rudolf Kippenhahn, 100 Billion Suns: The Birth, Life, and Death of the Stars (1983, reissued 1993; originally published in German, 1980), is a readable account of stellar evolution. Donald A. Cooke, The Life & Death of Stars (1985), has excellent illustrations. Paul Murdin and Lesley Murdin, Supernovae, rev. ed. (1985), is a superlative nontechnical history. Kenneth R. Lang and Owen Gingerich (eds.), A Source Book in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 1900–1975 (1979), provides a collection of seminal papers in the field, including much on stellar atmospheres, spectra, evolution and distribution, and variable stars. International technical reports of research in astronomical and astrophysical sciences can be found in the following periodicals: The Astronomical Journal (10/year) and Astrophysical Journal (3/month), both published by the American Astronomical Society; Astronomy and Astrophysics (4/month); Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (3/month); Astrophysics (quarterly), trans. from Russian; and Chinese Astronomy and Astrophysics (quarterly), trans. from Chinese. More popular articles are published in Astronomy (monthly); The Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (semiannual); and Sky and Telescope (monthly).
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
-
Kenneth Brecher
Professor of Astronomy and Physics; Director, Science and Mathematics Education Center, Boston University.
- John Donald Fernie
- Lawrence Hugh Aller
- Eric J. Chaisson
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
- Adam Augustyn
- Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Yamini Chauhan
- Darshana Das
- Aakanksha Gaur
- Erik Gregersen
- Kanchan Gupta
- John Higgins
- Robert Lewis
- Gloria Lotha
- Richard Pallardy
- Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer
- Melissa Petruzzello
- Dutta Promeet
- Emily Rodriguez
- Marco Sampaolo
- Shiveta Singh
- Grace Young
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Article title updated for style. | Nov 09, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: NASA - Science - Star Types. | Jul 22, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: The Nine Planets - Stars Facts. | Apr 29, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: IOPscience - Modes of multiple start formation (PDF). | Dec 04, 2025 | ||
| Questions and answers added. | Mar 21, 2025 | ||
| Link added. | Jun 11, 2024 | ||
| Added cross-references to atomic mass and atomic mass unit. | Mar 17, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Space.com - Stars: Facts about stellar formation, history and classification. | Sep 06, 2022 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | May 06, 2021 | ||
| Added image of the black hole in M87. | Apr 10, 2019 | ||
| Removed the words "now considered" and changed "millions of solar masses at the centres of some galaxies" to "millions and billions of solar masses at the centres of some galaxies like M87" in the section Black holes. | Apr 10, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: Science with Kids - Facts About Stars for Kids. | Feb 08, 2019 | ||
| Removed tables. | Aug 21, 2018 | ||
| Corrected display issue. | Jun 15, 2018 | ||
| Add new Web site: ThoughtCo. - What is a Star? | May 04, 2018 | ||
| Updated and revised the sections Stellar structure and Star formation and evolution. | Aug 02, 2017 | ||
| Added photos of the Sun and the Crab Nebula, and diagrams of stellar evolution and a pulsar. | Aug 02, 2017 | ||
| Revised and updated the sections General considerations and Light from the stars. | Jul 31, 2017 | ||
| Added 12 photographs and one diagram. | Jul 31, 2017 | ||
| Add new Web site: PlanetFacts.org - Star. | May 03, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 13, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Rader's Cosmos4Kids.com - Stars. | Jun 03, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: British Broadcasting Corporation - GCSE Bitesize - Life cycles of stars. | Jun 02, 2014 | ||
| Add new Web site: Globio - Glossopedia - Star. | Feb 05, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: NASA - Science - Stars. | Feb 05, 2013 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Jan 05, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: NeoK12 - Educational Videos and Games for School Kids - Star. | Nov 03, 2011 | ||
| Add new Web site: Quatr.us - Planet. | Jul 22, 2011 | ||
| Added video depicting the life cycle of a star. | Mar 02, 2011 | ||
| Added video describing star formation and the temperatures of various types of stars. | Feb 09, 2011 | ||
| Added diagram depicting stellar evolution. | Nov 15, 2010 | ||
| Added Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. | Nov 15, 2010 | ||
| Updated value of astronomical unit. Added information about most massive star, R136a1. Updated discussion of HD 209458b. | Jul 22, 2010 | ||
| Added Spitzer Space Telescope image of the W5 Star Formation Region. | Apr 01, 2010 | ||
| Information added about the progenitor star of supernova 2007bi, which is the largest known star. | Dec 04, 2009 | ||
| Article revised and updated | Sep 09, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: National Geographic - Science - Everything you wanted to know about stars. | Apr 16, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: ILoveIndia.com - Astrology History. | Apr 16, 2009 | ||
| Article revised. | Feb 27, 2009 | ||
| Media added. | Feb 27, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Buzzle.com - Astrology. | Feb 17, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Buzzle.com - Astrology. | Feb 17, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: Kids Astronomy - The Universe - Stars. | Feb 12, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - How Stars Work. | Feb 11, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Geography - Geography of Vancouver, Washington, United States. | May 07, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the City of Vancouver, Washington, United States. | Apr 18, 2008 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Apr 06, 2007 | ||
| Bibliography revised. | Apr 06, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: How the Greeks Used Geometry to Understand the Stars. | Jun 28, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: How the Greeks Used Geometry to Understand the Stars. | Jun 28, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Enchanted Learning - All About Astronomy. | May 26, 2006 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Aug 23, 1998 |