Download Life Cycle of a Star

Life Cycle of a Star
Notes using the foldable
How long a star
lives depends
on the mass
Life Cycle of a Star
The smaller the
stars, the longer
the life because
they use up their
fuel more slowly
Red Dwarf
Red Giant
White Dwarf
Black Dwarf
Nebula
Protostar
Yellow Star
Blue Giant
Red Super Giant
Supernova
Black Hole
Neutron Star
Nebula
• All stars begin as parts of nebulas
• A large cloud of gas and dust
• large amount of gas in a small volume,
very dense
Protostar
• The 1st stage of a star’s life
• A contracting cloud of gas and dust
• Pressure and heat start nuclear fusion
Different Masses mean different types of stars
Mass of star
How long a star lives depends on how much
mass it has
A small mass star uses less fuel so it lasts
longer so . . .
The smaller the mass the longer it lasts
Red Dwarf
• A small mass star
• Can last up to 200 billion years
Yellow Star
• A medium mass star
• Our sun is a yellow star
• Lives for 10 billion years
Blue Giant
•
•
•
•
A large mass star
10-15 times larger than the sun
VERY hot
Short lives because they have used up a
lot of fuel
Red Giant
•
•
•
•
The star runs out of fuel
outer parts expand, then the core shrinks
It turns red as it is cooling
This phase will last until the star exhausts
its remaining fuel.
• The pressure of the nuclear reaction is not
strong enough to equalize the force of
gravity so the star will collapse.
Red Super Giant
• The star runs out of fuel
• The core shrinks and the outer parts
expand
• It turns red as it is cooling
• This phase will last until the star exhausts
its remaining fuel.
• The pressure of the nuclear reaction is not
strong enough to equalize the force of
gravity so the star will collapse.
White Dwarf
•
•
•
•
•
No more fuel left
Faint glow from left over energy
Outer parts drift out into space
Small blue white hot core is left
About the size of Earth
Supernova
• As the core shrinks, pressure increases
• Results in an explosion
Black Dwarf
• When the white dwarf stops glowing it is
dead\very dense
Black Hole
• Remains of explosion collapse into a black
hole
• Most large mass stars turn into black holes
Neutron Star
• After explosion some material left behind
• Forms a neutron star
• Dense and small