Life Cycle of a Star
- Created by: H_H
- Created on: 17-05-17 12:17
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- Clouds of Dust and Gas
- Life Cycle of a Star
- The force of gravity causes the dust and gas to spiral together
- This forms a protostar
- Gravitational energy is converted to heat energy
- When the temperature gets high enough, thermonuclear fusion takes place.
- The hydrogen nuclei forms helium nuclei
- This gives out massive amounts of heat and light
- A main sequence star is formed
- This is a long stable period. The heat released by thermonuclear fusion creates outward pressure. This is balanced by the force of gravity, pulling everything in
- When the hydrogen runs out, it swells and forms a red giant
- A small-to-medium sized star becomes unstable and ejects its outer layer of dust
- This creates a planetary nebula
- A solid, dense, hot core if left behind. This is a white dwarf. This cools down and eventually fades away
- This creates a planetary nebula
- Big stars form a red supergiant
- They glow brightly and undergo more nuclear fusion, expanding and contracting several times
- Heavier elements are formed in various nuclear reactions
- Eventually this will explode to form a supernova
- The exploding supernova throws the outer layers of dust and gas into space
- This leaves a very dense core called neutron star
- If the star is big enough, it will become a black hole
- This leaves a very dense core called neutron star
- The exploding supernova throws the outer layers of dust and gas into space
- Eventually this will explode to form a supernova
- Heavier elements are formed in various nuclear reactions
- They glow brightly and undergo more nuclear fusion, expanding and contracting several times
- A small-to-medium sized star becomes unstable and ejects its outer layer of dust
- When the hydrogen runs out, it swells and forms a red giant
- This is a long stable period. The heat released by thermonuclear fusion creates outward pressure. This is balanced by the force of gravity, pulling everything in
- A main sequence star is formed
- This gives out massive amounts of heat and light
- The hydrogen nuclei forms helium nuclei
- When the temperature gets high enough, thermonuclear fusion takes place.
- Gravitational energy is converted to heat energy
- This forms a protostar
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