Humans once thought the stars were campfires in the sky and the Milky Way "the backbone of night." In this fascinating segment, Dr. Sagan takes us back to ancient Greece, when the basic question "what are the stars?" was first asked. He visits the Brooklyn elementary school of his childhood, where this same question is still on students' minds.

Using computer animation and amazing astronomical art, Dr. Sagan shows how stars are born, live, die, and sometimes collapse to form neutron stars or black holes. We then journey into the future to witness "the last perfect day on Earth," 5 billion years from now, after which the sun will engulf our planet in the fires of its death throes.