Often, we call the stages of a star its “life cycle”, and I’ve been thinking about this for a bit.

Stars meet many of the requirements for living organisms: they can consume matter, they can react to stimuli (sort of, does gravity count? e.g. binary systems), they can reproduce (they expel gas clouds on death that can eventually create new stars), they can grow and change size over their lifespan, and they maintain equilibrium (between gravity and radiation pressure from fusion)

What stops stars from being considered living objects?

edit: as it turns out, the formation of new stars after death doesn’t really count as reproduction, and gravity shouldn’t count as stimuli (a rock experiences gravity too, but it doesn’t react to stimuli)

  • frongt@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    8 days ago

    They don’t react to stimuli like gravity any more than a completely inanimate object.

    They also don’t reproduce. Dying and reforming is not reproduction. I’m not aware of anything already considered living that will die and reanimate.

    • Lucy [she/faer]@mander.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      7 days ago

      I’m not aware of anything already considered living that will die and reanimate.

      Tardigrades? They can cease any metabolic activity and then wake up years later as if nothing happened.

      • sbeak@sopuli.xyzOP
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        7 days ago

        But that isn’t really reproduction, and not comparable to the death of a star

        • Lucy [she/faer]@mander.xyz
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          7 days ago

          True I just wanted to mention these fascinating creatures because they are the closest we have to revival from death.