Lifecycle of a Star

/Act One/

The Life of a Small to Medium Mass Star

Nebula- cloud of gas & dust

Protostar

Small Protostar…

Brown DwarfToo small to create enough heat to start fusion

Main Sequence Star

The protostar gains enough mass to begin fusion.All main sequence stars fuse hydrogen

Red Giant

Small to medium main sequence star runs out of hydrogen & begins fusing helium

Planetary Nebula

A Red Giant completely stops fusing & the outer layers of the star are driven away

White Dwarf

The left over core of a star.

A white dwarf may only be the size of Earth, but it has a mass equal to ½ of the Sun.

Black Dwarf

A white dwarf cools off over trillions of yearsuntil it no longer emits light

/Act Two/

The Life of aHigh Mass Star

Nebula- cloud of gas & dust

Protostar

Massive Main Sequence Star

Massive main sequence stars fuse hydrogenmuch faster than small or medium stars

Red Supergiant

Massive main sequence star runs out of hydrogen & beginsfusing helium, carbon, oxygen, etc.

Supernova

Fusion stops. The star collapses & creates a huge explosion.

Neutron Star

Super dense core of a star left over after a supernova.

Only 5 to 15 MILES in diameter, but have a mass 1.5 – 2 timesthat of the Sun.

Black Hole

Stars with masses of 25 to 50 times of the Sunform black holes after a supernova.

The leftover core of the star is so dense that it causes gravitational collapse.