Life Cycle of Stars Mr Anderson A Star

Life Cycle of Stars Mr. Anderson

A Star is Born Stars begin their lives as part of a Nebula. - Nebula: large cloud of gas and dust spread over an immense volume.

A Star is Born Gravity pulls the gas and dust together until it gains enough mass to form a protostar. - Proto= earliest in greek Eventually Nuclear fusion begins, and a star is born.

Life of a Star How long a star lives depends on its mass. - High mass = Shorter life - Low mass = Longer life Think of a big car vs. a small car

Life of a Star

Red Giants/Supergiants When a star begins to run out of fuel the core shrinks and the outer portion expands. GRAVITY - Red Giant = low mass - Super Giant = high mass

White Dwarf Formed from low mass and medium mass stars. 1) Planetary Nebula forms as gases expand. 2) Blue-white core forms white dwarf. 3) After billions of years turns to black dwarf.

Supernova Huge explosion the results when a high mass star runs out of fuel. Can form a nebula that contracts to form a recycled star.

Neutron Star The remains of a high mass star. They can be the mass of 3 suns, but only 25 Km in diameter. Pulsar = spinning neutron star.

Black Holes The most massive stars become black holes when they die. - Black hole= an object with gravity so strong nothing, not even light can escape.

Black Holes