Look up at the night sky with your naked eye and it may seem like it rarely changes. Yet the universe is in constant flux. Stars drift through space, orbiting the centre of the Milky Way as planets orbit them. They rotate, showing off spots on their surfaces and sometimes producing violent outbursts that affect planetary atmospheres much like solar storms produce auroras on the Earth.
As stars age, they can die dramatically as supernovae, releasing material that will form the next generation of stars and planets.
