Life Cycle of Stars

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Life Cycle of Stars
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3 categories of stars

• Sun-sized stars
• (up to 6 times the size of the sun)
• Huge stars
• (6 - 30 times the size of the sun)
• Giant Stars
• (over 30 times the size of the sun)

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The life of Sun-sized stars

• Born in a nebula (a cloud of gas and dust, mostly
  Hydrogen).
• The star produces energy from nuclear fusion of
  Hydrogen into Helium.
• This type of star lasts for about 10 billion
  years.

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The death of Sun-sized stars

• Once their fuel is used up, the core shrinks and
  the outer layers begin to expand forming a red
  giant.
• Eventually, the star loses enough mass that it
  becomes a white dwarf.
• White dwarfs continue to lose heat and eventually
  become black dwarfs.

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The life of Huge stars

• Born in a huge nebula (a cloud of gas and dust,
  mostly Hydrogen).
• The star produces energy from nuclear fusion of
  Hydrogen into Helium.
• This type of star uses up its fuel faster than
  sun-sized stars.

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The death of Huge stars

• Once their fuel is used up, the core shrinks and
  the outer layers begin to expand forming a super
  red giant.
• Eventually, the stars core collapses so much
  that it explodes in a supernova.
• This size star will eventually become a neutron
  star - a star that has about 1.5 times the mass
  of our sun, but only about 10 km in diameter.

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The life of Giant stars

• Born in a huge nebula (a cloud of gas and dust,
  mostly Hydrogen).
• The star produces energy from nuclear fusion of
  Hydrogen into Helium.
• This type of star uses up its fuel faster than
  sun-sized stars, only living a few million years.

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The death of Giant stars

• Once their fuel is used up, the core shrinks and
  the outer layers begin to expand forming a super
  red giant.
• Eventually, the stars core collapses so much
  that it explodes in a supernova.
• This size star will collapse on itself so much
  that its gravity takes over completely and not
  even light can escape. It becomes a black hole.

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