The Sun and similar stars are losing weight – they blow some of their gas into space through strong “winds.” And at the end, they blow away all of their outer layers of gas. That leaves only their hot, dense cores, known as white dwarfs – tiny remnants of their once brilliant selves.
An example is Sirius B, the faint companion of Sirius A, the brightest star in the night sky. Sirius climbs into view in the east-southeast by around 8:30 or 9, and arcs across the south during the night.
Sirius B is too small and faint to see without a telescope. But long ago, that wouldn’t have been the case. The star probably was a few times as massive as the Sun, so it would have shined brighter than Sirius A is today.
Such a hot, bright star produces a much thicker wind than the Sun does, so it loses mass at a higher rate. And because Sirius B was heavier than the Sun, it burned through the nuclear fuel in its core much faster – it fizzled out in a couple of hundred million years, while the Sun is still only half way through its 10-billion-year lifetime.
As it neared the end of its life, Sirius B puffed up like a giant balloon, then ejected its outer layers. Some of that gas probably piled on the surface of Sirius A, increasing its mass.
Today, Sirius B is as heavy as the Sun, but only as big as Earth. It still shines because it’s extremely hot. But it’s only a faint reminder of its former glory.
Tomorrow: an early new year.
Script by Damond Benningfield

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