Normal Stars (Illustrations)

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Illustration of DG Tau This artist's impression shows a close-up view of the young star DG Tau. The star is in the center of the illustration, surrounded by a large disk of cool gas, shown in orange and red. Material flows onto the star via thin streams shown in yellow, and high energy jets flowing away from the star are depicted in light blue. (Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss) Related Photo Album

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Stellar Equilibrium The Sun and other stars shine as a result of nuclear reactions deep in their interiors. These reactions change light elements into heavier ones and release energy in the process. This illustration depicts how the outflow of energy from the central regions of a star provides the pressure necessary to keep the star from collapsing under its own weight. (Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss) Field Guide: Stellar Evolution

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Stellar Fate The fate of stars depends upon their mass; this illustration depicts how a small, large or extra-large star may develop into white dwarf, neutron star or black hole. (Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss) Field Guide: Stellar Evolution

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Two Orbiting Stars This artist's conception depicts the two closely orbiting stars of 44i Bootis. These two stars circle around each other at a rapid rate, passing in front of one another every three hours. (Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss) Related Photo Album

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	Artist's Conception of TW Hydrae and HD 98800A An artist's conception shows TW Hydrae (left) and HD 98800A (right), two young star systems that are both members of the TW Hydrae stellar association which formed about 10 million years ago. On the left, the illustration depicts matter accreting onto the star from a circumstellar disk. X-rays are produced as matter from the disk is guided by the star's magnetic field onto one or more hot spots on the surface of the star. On the right, the illustration shows a binary star system's brightest star producing X-rays much as the Sun does, from a hot upper atmosphere or corona. This indicates that any disk around these stars has been greatly diminished or destroyed in ten million years, perhaps by the ongoing formation of planets or by its companion stars. (Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss) Related Photo Album

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Illustration of Large Flares These two illustrations show a planet-forming disk of gas and dust around a young star that is shown undergoing large flares. The left panel shows the disk is initially smooth. The X-rays from the large flares should heat the planet-forming disk and give it an electric charge. This charge, combined with motion of the disk and the effects of magnetic fields should create turbulence in the disk (shown at right). This turbulence may knock rocky, Earth-like planets inwards and outwards in their orbits, overcoming their tendency to rapidly migrate through the disk towards the young star. (Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss) Related Photo Album

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Illustration of Small Flare These two illustrations show a planet-forming disk of gas and dust around a young star that is undergoing small flares. In this case the disk remains smooth and the rocky Earth-like planet migrates through the disk towards the young star. (Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss) Related Photo Album

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	Super Flare Animation Still Images This series of stills shows how X-ray flares from a young star affect a planet-forming disk. Light from the young star is reflected off the inner part of the disk, making it glow. The view zooms in to show small white flares continually erupting on the surface of the young star. A set of huge white magnetic loops then erupts from the star and hits the inside edge of the disk, resulting in an extremely bright flare. X-rays from the flare then heat up the planet-forming disk and will later result in turbulence that affects the positions of planets. View Animation (Credit: NASA/CXC/A.Hobart) Related Photo Album

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	Illustration of Convection in Sun-like Star Neon, along with atoms of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, plays an important role in regulating the rate at which energy flows from nuclear reactions in the Sun's core to its surface. The character of the energy flow changes dramatically about 125,000 miles from the surface on the Sun, where the stately diffusion of heat suddenly converts to a convective motion much like the unstable air in a thunderstorm. (Credit: Spectrum: NASA/CXC/J.Drake & P.Testa; Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss) Related Photo Album

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	Illustrations of Coronal Mass Ejection Coronal mass ejections (or CMEs) are huge bubbles of gas threaded with magnetic field lines that are ejected at high speeds (millions of miles per hour) from the Sun over the course of several hours. If a CME collides with the Earth, it can excite a geomagnetic storm that can damage spacecraft, cause electrical power outages, and endanger astronauts. (Illustration: NASA/CXC/A.Hobart) View Animation

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