ABSTRACT
We ask: what is a star? Although common and easily asked, this question can prove complicated to answer. It is not that responses are difficult to fathom. On the contrary, answers abound. Indeed, this is where the difficulty emerges: the question admits of a variety of answers, each perfectly correct as far as it goes, but not all going to the same place, nor even in the same direction. That is, on its surface, the question seems to call for a definition. So, one might expect one form or another of definition in response. Perplexity follows the realization that this expectation might be met in a number of non-equivalent ways. Thus, one definition someone might offer is:
(Def1) A star is a celestial body shining in the night sky.
