Size sets the level. A size 1 star needs 10 Mining, a size 9 needs 90. A star loses a size every seven minutes on its own, so if it is too big for you now, wait and it will come down to you.

Your pickaxe sets the pace. You mine one stardust every few seconds, faster with a better pickaxe. Bigger stars give more Mining xp for each dust.

Mine together. Everyone takes dust from the same layer, so more miners shrink the star faster. When the star is gone, a star sprite thanks everyone who mined at least 25 dust from it, and gives double if the miners broke it before it faded.

Glimmering fragments. Now and then a fragment breaks off while you mine. Click it for extra stardust if you are on this page. If you miss one, nothing happens.

One size at a time. Press Mine and you keep mining while you play anywhere else, until the star changes size, whether its miners broke the layer or it shrank on its own. Then you stop: come back and press Mine again to mine the next size.