Stellar evolution tells us how stars are born, live, and die. It tells us about the life of a star in perfect ways. Since a star’s life is too long to watch, that is the reason scientists study many stars in our galaxy at different stages. And by doing this, they combine the whole process. This process explains star birth, life, and death.
In general, bigger stars live shorter lives, although nearly all stars exist for billions of years, except the very largest ones, When a star runs out of hydrogen in its core, it stops producing energy. Without this energy, the core of the star contracts and heats up.
Stars Life Cycle From Birth to Death
The star’s life cycle is an impressive journey. It begins as a nebula, and later on, it progresses through stages like protostar and main sequence. Then, it turns into into a red giant. And eventually becomes a white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole. Scientists continuously learn more about the life of stars. This is the reason why our powerful telescopes and satellites are just starting their exploration of the stars And they are revealing new cosmic secrets in our surroundings.
Birth
Stars are born in cool, dense clouds called nebulae. They are made mostly of hydrogen and helium. A star’s birth begins when gravity makes a nebula region dense. Gas and dust in that spot squeeze together under their weight. They get hotter and thus forms a protostar.
Main Sequence
Aside from the Birth, here comes the main sequence part of the star. The protostar becomes hotter and smaller until it’s about 10 million degrees Celsius. The process of nuclear fusion begins which changes the hydrogen to helium and releasing energy. This energy fights gravity, and stop further collapsing. Hence, the star is now in the main sequence phase, where it spends most of its life.
Red Giant
With the passage of the time, star use up core hydrogen. It causes the core to shrink. This causes an expansion of the outer layer. And further cool it down. It becomes bigger, brighter, and turns red, known as the red giant phase. Stars like our sun will go through this phase eventually.
Planetary Nebula
After being a red giant, the star sheds its outer layers, making a glowing shell called a planetary nebula. The core contracts and becomes a white dwarf.
White Dwarf
A white dwarf is a compact star that’s cooled down after using up its fuel. It’s Earth-sized but as heavy as the sun. Over time, it becomes colder and turns into a dark black dwarf.
Supernova
Larger stars follow a different path. After the red giant phase, the core gets smaller and hotter until it explodes in a supernova. This explosion releases huge energy and shoots the star’s outer layers into space.
Neutron Star or Black Hole
The star’s core collapses into a neutron star or a black hole. A neutron star is small but very heavy, made of neutrons. A black hole has gravity so strong that nothing, not even light, can get away from it.
Life of a Star Diagram
Life Cycle of a Star NASA Explained
Following is the Life of a Star in Order proper placement. So, let’s have a look over it.
- Birth
- Main Sequence
- Red Giant
- Planetary Nebula
- White Dwarf
- Supernova
- Neutron Star or Black Hole
What is the Second and the Longest Stage in the Life of a Star?
The main sequence is a star’s longest stage. And it spans millions to trillions of years based on its starting mass. Our Sun is a yellow dwarf, will stay in this phase for about 10 billion years.
What is the Life Cycle of a mass Star?
A small star turns hydrogen into helium as it ages. The core shrinks, and get hotter and brighter. Eventually, all core hydrogen is used up.
What is the Life Cycle of High Mass Star?
Massive Star has a short main-sequence phase, then becomes giants. They shed layers, exploding and forming neutron stars or black holes.
What is the First Stage of Stars Life?
Every star’s beginning involves a nebula. Which is basically a gathering of dust and gas due to gravity. These clouds combine to form a protostar, shrinking under their immense weight.
What is the Life Cycle of a Red Dwarf Star?
Sun-like stars exist for about 10 billion years. Even the oldest red dwarfs haven’t used all their hydrogen. Heavier ones live for tens of billions of years; the smallest endure trillions of years.
How long do stars live?
Big stars use up hydrogen quickly, so they live briefly. An eight-solar mass star lasts less than 100 million years. For 10-15 solar masses, it’s only 10-20 million years. The heaviest giants survive just a few million years.
What is the birth life and death of a star?
A star is born when its core heats up enough for fusion. Stars mostly fuse hydrogen to helium as the main sequence stars. The Sun is halfway through this phase and will become a red giant in around 4.5 billion years.
How does a star begin its life?
Stars begin as material collapses in a large cloud of gas and dust. These clouds form between stars and have turbulent spots that collapse due to gravity.
What are the 4 stages of stars life cycle?
The nebula to protostar, main sequence, red giant, and finally white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole – our nearby stars go through remarkable transformations.
What happens when a star dies?
Big stars and some doubles go supernova, lighter ones become nebulae. They add heavy elements to clouds for new stars.
What is the death of stars called?
Stars that die are known as supernovae. They appear as an outshining galaxies for weeks with an explosion billions of times brighter than the sun. Which is the reason why they throw large amounts of matter into space.
What is a star made of?
A star is a massive, and a glowing ball of hot gas. If we look deep inside into it, then we will find hydrogen atoms collision. It creates helium and releases the energy that heats the gas. This process is known as the nuclear fusion. And this process is what makes a star shine. The hot gas pushing outward balances the pull of gravity.
