STAGE 2-3. Stellar Formation Evolution Flashcards
A celestial luminous body in the sky.
They are primarily made up of mostly
hydrogen, with some helium and small
amounts of other elements.
STAR
The process by which elements are formed
within stars as a result of nuclear fusion.
STELLAR NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
The process by which multiple nuclei joined together to
form a heavier nucleus.
NUCLEAR FUSION
_____________ are vast clouds
of dust and gas.
NEBULAE
- Predominantly composed
of hydrogen and helium. - They are also known as
star nurseries as new
stars form within them.
STELLAR NEBULAE
Though the dust and gas
within nebulae are spread
out, gravitational forces
cause them to clump
together, forming what is
known protostar.
STELLAR NEBULAE
- it is a hot core
at the heart of the
collapsing cloud that will
one day become star
PROTOSTAR
In a main sequence star, the
inward pressure of its gravity is
balanced by the outward pressure
of nuclear fusion, where the star
produces energy by converting
hydrogen atoms to helium atoms.
MAIN SEQUENCE
Eventually, the hydrogen which
powers the nuclear reactions
inside a star begins to run out. All
stars will expand, cool and change
color.
RED GIANT
A smaller star or the average star,
will gradually cool down and stop
glowing.
PLANETARY NEBULAE & SUPERNOVA
a region of cosmic gas and dust formed from
the cast-off outer layers of a dying star.
PLANETARY NEBULAE
is what happens when
a star has reached the end of its
life and explodes in a brilliant burst
of light.
SUPERNOVA
Eventually, red giant stars become
too unstable and expel their outer
gaseous layers, leaving a small,
extremely dense, solid core, known
as a ________________.
WHITE DWARF
Without enough energy to emit
light, the white dwarf becomes a _________________.
BLACK DWARF
Less massive red super giants
condense into ___________ after
undergoing a supernova.
NEUTRON STARS
_____________ are incredibly dense, with a single teaspoon of neutron star weighing a billion tons.
NEUTRON STAR
If the star was of an extremely
high mass then, after a supernova,
it could collapse into itself,
forming a ________________, in which
gravity is so strong that even light
cannot escape it.
BLACK HOLE
is one of the ways by
which stars fuse hydrogen into helium
PROTON-PROTON CHAIN REACTION
is a catalytic process that requires the
presence of some initial carbon, nitrogen, and
oxygen abundance in the stellar material.
CNO CYCLE
stars fuse together three
alpha particles, creating a
new particle with six
protons and six neutrons
TRIPLE ALPHA PROCESS
More and more alpha
particles are fused to
create heavier elements
all the way to iron.
ALPHA LADDER
slow-neutron-capture-process is a
nucleosynthesis process that occurs at
relatively low neutron density and
intermediate temperature conditions in
stars.
S-PROCESS
a rapid neutron-capture process is a set of
nuclear reactions that in nuclear astrophysics
is responsible for the creation of approximately
half of the atomic nuclei heavier than iron. It is
done in a rapid process.
R-PROCESS
