Stars go through life cycles like humans, being born from collapsing gas clouds, burning hydrogen through nuclear fusion on the main sequence, and eventually dying. Medium and low mass stars end as white dwarfs after shedding their outer layers, while high mass stars explode as supernovae, leaving behind neutron stars or black holes. Neutron stars are incredibly dense, rotating rapidly, while black holes have event horizons beyond which nothing, not even light, can escape.