The Last Light of a Star

Separate the changes in a star’s core from changes in its outer layers. Find how mass, fuel, mass loss and a companion can affect the possible ending.

Compare the Sun Explorer’s observations, illustrations and explanations. Which parts show the Sun now, and which describe processes or a future history?

Compare stellar-evolution paths and the role of a companion. Treat the displayed stages as teaching models, not a time-lapse observation of one star.

Use the activity to choose a path and defend it. State which assumptions you used, then identify one change that could alter your conclusion.

Follow how spectra, stellar populations, clusters and remnants test an evolutionary history. Why does agreement among different observations matter?

Explore how spectral features carry information about light and matter. These teaching profiles are not new observations of a particular white dwarf.

Separate measured spectra, atmosphere modeling and a prediction of human color perception. What would an artist’s green disk fail to prove on its own?

Examine how neutrino assumptions affect a simulated collapse. Compare a modeled outcome with an observed remnant, then name the evidence you would want next.