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Zoom Astronomy
The Stars
Lifecycle Nuclear Fusion Brightest Stars Galaxies Other Solar Systems Constellations Why Stars Twinkle
Birth Death Star Types Closest Stars Nebulae Major Stars The Zodiac Activities, Links

The Birth of Stars The Death of Stars
Sun-like Stars
(Up to 1.5 times the mass of the Sun)
Huge Stars
(From 1.5 to 3 times the mass of the Sun)
Giant Stars
(Over 3 times the mass of the Sun)

THE DEATH OF HUGE STARS
(from 1.5 to 3 times the mass of the Sun)



Betelgeuse, a red supergiant in Orion.
When huge stars grow old, they become even more enormous red supergiants (as their core fuses all the hydrogen into helium). Their core shrinks, becoming hotter and denser. With these changes, different nuclear processes occur; fusion now produces heavier elements (this temporarily stop the core's shrinking).

Eventually this core collapses (in an instant). As the iron atoms are crushed together in this gravitational collapse, the core temperature rises to about 100 billion degrees.


Supernova N132D: 3,000 years after a supernova, ejecting stellar material (including oxygen-rich gas) in luminescent shock fronts. It is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (169,000 light-years from Earth).

Supernova SN1987A: the beginning of a supernova.
The repulsive electrical forces between the atoms' nuclei overcomes the gravitational forces, causing a massive, bright, short-lived explosion called a supernova. During the explosion, shock waves, blow away the star's outer layers.

The next stage depends on the star's remaining mass:

The Crab nebula: the remnant of a supernova in A.D. 1054. It has a rapidly spinning neutron star.


EVOLVED STAR

An evolved star is an old star that is near the end of its existence. Its nuclear fuel is mostly gone. The star loses mass from its surface, producing a stellar wind (gas that is ejected from the surface of a star).



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