Two examples of relatively rare but beautiful brilliant orange-red ‘carbon stars'

(R Leporis and TW Horologgi) which are always a joy to observe as they contrast so well within a star field in the field of view. A carbon star is a late evolutionary state for stars of less than around 9 solar masses (that lie on the Asymptotic Giant Branch). They take on deep subdued red through to intense orange hues - ranging from bright pumpkin orange to deep cinnabar red. Carbon stars are stars well on their way to death, having consumed much of their hydrogen and helium in fusion reactions to synthesise higher order elements, they consequently acquire a dead/inert core of carbon and oxygen, surrounded by two outer shells of nuclear fusion reacting layers, a helium layer and a hydrogen layer. Convection currents driven by fusion reactions within these outer shells dredge up carbon and oxygen from the inert core and redistribute it to the outermost stellar atmosphere. Carbon stars are distinguished by having carbon to oxygen ratios >1 in their outer atmosphere.

R Leporis (upper image), also known as Hinds Crimson star (and the 'Vampire Star') is a fascinating object to look at and contemplate. It's discoverer, British astronomer J.R. Hind, described it "like a drop of blood on a black field". R Leporis is one of the reddest stars in the visible night sky (residing in the constellation of Lepus - The Hare). Being a carbon star it is variable in brightness, brightening and dimming on a 427 day cycle, with its reddest coloration when it is at its dimmest. Like an ember of coal, a somewhat relevant description, it's colour is due to an abundance of carbon compounds that are being dredged up from deep in the stellar interior. These carbon compounds cyclically build up on the surface and consume oxygen to form carbon monoxide, with excess carbon in the outer stellar atmosphere also forming other carbon compounds (including hydrogen cyanide [HCN]). This carbon-rich outer atmosphere absorbs the shorter (bluer) wavelength light generated from internal nuclear reactions. The longer wavelengths of light from these residual fusion reactions (red and infra-red) preferentially pass through the sooty stellar atmosphere, resulting in the deep red/ruddy crimson colour of carbon stars (compared to most hotter stars that are blue-white, white and yellow to amber in colour). R Leporis repeatedly explosively ejects it's molecular carbon-rich outer atmosphere to interstellar space on a 427 day cycle, and annually ejects ~100 million times the mass of the solar wind that is emitted from our star the sun. Such a process seeds the universe with components for building carbon-based life. Most of the carbon that is stitched together in our DNA (i.e. 18.5 wt% of our bodies by weight) was aggregated, over deep time, from thousands or millions of such carbon stars, each dying stellar corpse 'fertilising' our local patch of the universe with carbon compounds that ultimately found their way into our DNA.