The lives of stars: Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, nebula to nebula

Mar. 17—When it's time to add a sweet topping to our peanut butter Rice Krispies bars, we turn the heat on under a pot, add semi-sweet chocolate and butterscotch chips, then stir. Under the influence of heat, the chips melt away, their flavors freed to recombine in a way that could not occur at room temperature. In the oven at the sun's core, with temperatures up to 27,000,000 degrees …