Star
A star is a luminous sphere of plasma held together by its own gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Other stars are visible to the naked eye from Earth during the night, appearing as a multitude of fixed luminous points in the sky due to their immense distance from Earth. Historically, the most prominent stars were grouped into constellations and asterisms, and the brightest stars gained proper names. Extensive catalogues of stars have been assembled by astronomers, which provide standardized star designations.
For at least a portion of its life, a star shines due to thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium in its core, releasing energy that traverses the star's interior and then radiates into outer space. Once the hydrogen in the core of a star is nearly exhausted, almost all naturally occurring elements heavier than helium are created by stellar nucleosynthesis during the star's lifetime and, for some stars, by supernova nucleosynthesis when it explodes. Near the end of its life, a star can also contain degenerate matter. Astronomers can determine the mass, age, metallicity (chemical composition), and many other properties of a star by observing its motion through space, luminosity, and spectrum respectively. The total mass of a star is the principal determinant of its evolution and eventual fate. Other characteristics of a star, including diameter and temperature, change over its life, while the star's environment affects its rotation and movement. A plot of the temperature of many stars against their luminosities, known as a Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (H–R diagram), allows the age and evolutionary state of a star to be determined.
Growth–share matrix
The growth–share matrix (aka the product portfolio, BCG-matrix, Boston matrix, Boston Consulting Group analysis, portfolio diagram) is a chart that was created by Bruce D. Henderson for the Boston Consulting Group in 1970 to help corporations to analyze their business units, that is, their product lines. This helps the company allocate resources and is used as an analytical tool in brand marketing, product management, strategic management, and portfolio analysis. Analysis of market performance by firms using its principles has recently called its usefulness into question.
Overview
To use the chart, analysts plot a scatter graph to rank the business units (or products) on the basis of their relative market shares and growth rates.
Star (Erasure song)
"Star" is a song by Erasure, released in 1990 as the fourth European (and third American) single from the group's fourth studio album Wild!.
A straightforward dance music track with disco elements, "Star" was written by Erasure members Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, its lyrical content clearly referencing nuclear war; Erasure's own form of protest song. When released as a single, the track was remixed slightly for radio, bringing acoustic guitar elements and various background vocal parts forward in the mix.
The last single released from Wild!, "Star" became Erasure's twelfth consecutive Top 20 hit on the UK singles chart, peaking at number eleven, and in Germany it peaked at number twenty-three. In the United States, "Star" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, although it became a popular club hit, climbing to number four on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
Track listings
7" single (MUTE111) / Cassette Single (CMUTE111)
12" single (12MUTE111)
Podcasts:
