Stars are not eternal. They form from collapsing clouds of gas, burn for millions or billions of years, and then die, some quietly and some in explosions bright enough to briefly outshine an entire galaxy. We follow a star's full life cycle and explain why the calcium in your bones and the iron in your blood were forged inside one.

You'll come away understanding what nuclear fusion actually does, why a star's mass determines its entire destiny, and what will eventually happen to our own Sun.

Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au

Further reading: NASA astrophysics resources; ESA/Hubble star lifecycle material; Australian Astronomical Observatory education pages.