Listen&Learn: How Stars Die

Announcement: All Good Things (Must) Come To An End 😭

Posted by: Jaksyn Peacock

Learn what happens at the end of a star’s life.

Pre-listening vocabulary

dense: having a lot of mass packed into a small space
celestial: related to space
massive: having a large mass
implode: to collapse inwards
supernova: the violent collapse of a dying star
galaxy: a group of stars and other celestial objects held together by gravity

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

All stars die , but different stars can die in very different ways. Our Sun is a medium-sized star. That means that when the Sun dies, it will simply turn into something called a white dwarf. White dwarves are small, dense celestial objects that contain the matter left over from stars. However, some stars are much more massive than our Sun, and their deaths are much more . When a massive star gets older, it starts to cool down. This is because the star is using up the last of its . Once the star has no fuel left, it will implode. This implosion is called a supernova. The event is so bright that if a star in our galaxy caused a supernova, we could possibly see it from Earth. The force of a supernova causes the star’s mass to be compressed into a very small space with an incredibly strong gravitational pull. This is called a black hole, and it is so that nothing can escape from it.

Comprehension questions

[wp_quiz id=”20127″]

Discussion/essay questions

Scientists believe that over 1,000 years ago, ancient civilizations witnessed a bright supernova. Now, scientists are observing a dying star called Betelgeuse, which may go supernova soon. Do you think it’s possible that we could see a supernova in our lifetime?

Transcript

All stars die eventually, but different stars can die in very different ways. Our Sun is a medium-sized star. That means that when the Sun dies, it will simply turn into something called a white dwarf. White dwarves are small, dense celestial objects that contain the matter left over from dead stars. However, some stars are much more massive than our Sun, and their deaths are much more violent. When a massive star gets older, it starts to cool down. This is because the star is using up the last of its fuel. Once the star has no fuel left, it will implode. This implosion is called a supernova. The event is so bright that if a star in our galaxy caused a supernova, we could possibly see it from Earth. The force of a supernova causes the star’s mass to be compressed into a very small space with an incredibly strong gravitational pull. This is called a black hole, and it is so powerful that nothing can escape from it.

Written and recorded by Jaksyn Peacock for EnglishClub

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27 comments

English Club Indonesia says:

If human civilization stays long, then I believe that at some point humans will have a chance to witness a supernova.
ansh22222 says:

It was very nice keep making quiz of listening activities it is fun.
Alex says:

Thank you, I liked to much. First it was not a subject I used to read but I tried and it’s interesting and the leson was pretty good too.
Mark Anthony Ballon says:

Happy
Lupe Crespo says:

I would like to receive your exercises; I think they are excellent for my ESL students and they give me the opportunity to do something different from the textbook.
Thank you,
Lupe Crespo
from Guayaquil, Ecuador
Ayat says:

It was awesome !
Caridadgomo says:

I love space
Rubia says:

I liked this context. Very interest.
Jhojan says:

I love your content thanks so much
Lissage says:

I’m excited. This a for me an amazing article for practicing new vocabularies and learning new knowledge. Thank you so much. It’s very helpful.
eyola says:

helpful practise
sara says:

challenging topic
Leonela Ramirez says:

I had fun in practice
Meysam says:

I love issues or comments about cosmos like this. Thanks.
venda says:

ůkol
ROSA DALILA RODRIGUEZ RIVAS says:

MAI 5D
Said says:

This is extremely good 👍 thanks alot
Zewditu Redi says:

It is very good
Ismaeil says:

That’s good.
Carmen says:

Really good exercise. Thank you!!
Nasrin says:

Liked this practice.
Lucia says:

Great practice
Rudit says:

Good
Ulises Rojas S. says:

Very good theme, for learn new words and understand interesting scientific topics
Ali says:

nice practics
davy says:

happy
DORA says:

I LIKE THIS EXECISE