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Life of A Star

Stars undergo different stages in their life cycle: they begin as nebulas of dust and gas that collapse under gravity, fuse hydrogen into helium as protostars on the main sequence, and later expand into red giants when nuclear fusion can no longer counteract gravity, eventually shrinking into white dwarfs as the fuel runs out. More massive stars may explode as supernovae at the end of their lives.

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707 views28 pages

Life of A Star

Stars undergo different stages in their life cycle: they begin as nebulas of dust and gas that collapse under gravity, fuse hydrogen into helium as protostars on the main sequence, and later expand into red giants when nuclear fusion can no longer counteract gravity, eventually shrinking into white dwarfs as the fuel runs out. More massive stars may explode as supernovae at the end of their lives.

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[email protected]
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Life Cycle of a

Star
 1st Stage of Life
 Ball of gas and dust that is
pulled together by gravity 
Nebula.
 Nuclear fusion starts as gas
cloud becomes denser and
hotter  Protostar.
 Nuclear Fusion hydrogen
atoms fuse into helium
 Fourtypes of stars make
up the life of a star
Main Sequence

Giants

Super Giants

White Dwarfs
 Main Sequence (the Sun)
 2nd stage

 Longest stage

 Hydrogen changes into


helium which creates
enormous amounts of
energy
 The size of the star does not
 Giants and Supergiants
 3rd stage

 Main Sequence star becomes


a red giant
 Red giant star that expands
and cools once is loses all its
hydrogen
 Center shrinks and
A star loses ____________
mass during fusion
as energy is released. This decreases the
star’s gravity. A star will expand,
becoming a ___________
RED GIANT____________,
when the outward force of
________________
fusion is greater than the
gravity
inward force of ______________.
As the fuel runs out in a star, fusion slows down.
When the outward force of fusion is less than the
inward force of gravity, the star will shrink in size,
becoming a White Dwarf.

White Dwarf

A Pulsar is a rotating white


dwarf emitting radio waves.
 White Dwarf small hot
star that is the leftover
center of an older star
Final stage
Can shine for billions of
years before they
extinguish
 Hertzprung-Russell
Diagram
Shows the relationship
between a star’s surface
temperature and
absolute magnitude
Used to study the lives of
 Ageof stars
Average stars become
red giants then white
dwarfs
More massive stars
explode into a variety
 Supernova gigantic explosion
in which a massive star collapses
 Occurs after a massive star
uses up its fuel source
 Neutron Star a star that has
collapsed to a point at which all
particles are neutrons
 A neutron star that spins and
sends out beams of radiation is
 Black Hole an object
that is so massive that
light cannot escape its
gravity
Remnants of a
supernova
Astronomers can detect
Question 1

What kind of a star is


the sun?
Answer

Main Sequence
Question 2

What is the H-R


diagram?
Answer

Agraph that shows


the relationship
between a star’s
temperature and
absolute magnitude
Question 3

Whatare the four


main types of stars?
Answer

Main-Sequence

Giantsand
Supergiants
White Dwarfs

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