Life Cycle of a Star Flashcards
The sequence of changes that occur in a star as it ages
Life cycle
Compared to a human this stage would be considered middle age
Red Giant/Supergiant
Compared to a human this would be considered a fetus
Protostar
Compared to a human this would be considered old age-death
White Dwarf/Black Hole
Compared to a human this would be considered infancy through adulthood
Main Sequence
A thinly spread area of gas and dust mostly made of hydrogen (H), carbon (C) and silicon (Si)
Interstellar medium
Interstellar medium that collects into big clouds, the birthplace of stars, or a star nursery
nebula
Inside of a nebular regions of greater and less gravity cause gas and dust to pull together and as atoms gather, gravitational attraction increases. This is not a stable phase as many reactions are happening
protostar
This state is reached when gravity and gas pressure are equal
equilibrium
When a critical temperature in the core of the protostar is reached and nuclear fusion begins. An extremely hot ball of gas where Hydrogen (H) begins fusing into Helium (He)
Star
When the hydrogen is used up, stars fuse helium into _________
carbon
Stars live out most of their lives in this phase
main sequence
Our Sun is currently in this phase
Main Sequence
A yellow, medium size, low mas star that has been main sequence for about 4.57 billion years.
Our Sun
The stage for low mass stars after main sequence is
Red Giant
Occurs at the end of a low mass Red Giant’s life
planetary nebula
The core of the planetary nebula, forms when a low mass star runs out of fuel. Incredibly dense.
white dwarf
End product of a white dwarf, the last stage of stellar evolution for low mass stars. No longer emits heat or light, no longer a star.
Black Dwarf
High mass stars phase after main sequence
Red Super Giants
Next stage after Red Super Giant for a high mass star. The core becomes so heavy it cannot withstand its own gravitational force and it collapses and results in a giant explosion
Supernova
The core left behind after a supernova, very intense gravity, 2 billion times the gravity on Earth. The gravity presses the material in so tightly protons and electrons combine to form neutrons
Neutron Star
This forms when a very massive star collapses at the end of its life. It has such a strong gravitational pull nothing can escape, not even light
Black Hole