Life Cycle Of A Star Flashcards
What is the Interstellar Medium?
A thinly spread area made of gas and dust.
What is a Nebula?
The birthplace of stars.
What is a Protostar?
Forms inside the nebula where there are regions of greater and lesser gravity.
What is the Main Sequence?
Where stars have achieved nuclear fusion; they spend most of their life here.
What is a Red Giant?
The phase after the main sequence where a star’s outer gas layers expand and it turns red.
What is a Planetary Nebula?
Occurs at the end of a low-mass red giant’s life; the core gets very hot and luminous.
What is a White Dwarf?
Formed when a low-mass star runs out of fuel; the final stage of a low-mass star cycle.
What is a Black Dwarf?
The end product of a white dwarf.
What is a Supernova?
The last stage of a massive star’s life.
What is a Black Hole?
Forms when very massive stars collapse at the end of their life cycle; nothing can escape.
How does the life cycle of humans compare to the 4 stages of the life cycle of a star?
Proto star - Fetus
Main sequence - Baby
Red giant/supergiant - Middle age
White dwarf/black hole - Old age/death
What is nuclear fusion?
Nuclear fusion is when hydrogen fuses into helium.
It helps protostars form.
What is a star?
A star is an extremely hot ball of gas that undergoes nuclear fusion at its core.
In which phase do stars spend most of their lives?
Stars spend most of their life in the main sequence phase.
How is equilibrium important in the life cycle of a star?
Stars always try to reach equilibrium until they get to the main sequence.
Why do low mass stars live longer than high mass stars?
Low mass stars are colder and burn fuel more slowly than high mass stars.
What size is our sun?
Our sun is mid-sized.
How many years will our sun exist in the main sequence?
Our sun will exist in the main sequence for about 10 billion years.
What will be our sun’s next phase?
Our sun’s next phase will be the red giant phase.
