First time user of a Markdown Editor- Silly Question

#1

What do the ** symbols mean? Why do they appear and transfer over on a finished document? This is my first time using an editor. Thank You.

#2

*single stars* mean format text as italics. **double stars** mean format text as bold. Some markdowns support 3 stars which is ***bold italics*** and looks like bold italics. If you want to actually show a star, preceded it with a slash: \*a star appears as *a star.