Seven Main Stages of a Star 1. Giant Gas Cloud. A star originates from a large cloud of gas. The temperature in the cloud is low enough for the... 2. Protostar. When the gas particles in the molecular cloud run into each other, heat energy is produced. This results... 3. T-Tauri Phase. A T-Tauri ...
Full Answer
What are the different stages of a star's life cycle?
Stages of Stars. By this time the star and entered into a state called the Main Sequence Star which last for approximately 10 billion years. Stage Four: The hydrogen begins to run out and the stars grows into a red giant. The star is coloured red because the surface is cooler than it's former temperature.
What happens in the main sequence of a star?
Main sequence star In this stage, the young star reaches hydrostatic balance and its gravity compression is balanced by its outward pressure, giving it a solid shape. After that, the star becomes a Main Sequence star. Also, it spends 90% of its life in this stage fusing with hydrogen molecule and forming helium.
How do stars begin life?
All stars begin life in the same way. A cloud of dust and gas, also known as a nebula, becomes a protostar, which goes on to become a main sequence star. Following this, stars develop in different ways depending on their size. Stars that are far greater in mass than the Sun follow the right hand path:
How can a star's life cycle be shorter than its mass?
Let's examine exactly how this can be. A star's life cycle is determined by its mass. The larger its mass, the shorter its life cycle. A star's mass is determined by the amount of matter that is available in its nebula, the giant cloud of gas and dust from which it was born.
What are the 5 life stages of a star?
What are the different stages of life cycle of stars?Giant Gas Cloud.Protostar.T-Tauri Phase.Main Sequence.Red Giant.The Fusion of Heavier Elements.Supernovae and Planetary Nebulae.
What are the steps of a stars life cycle?
Step 1 - Green - A cloud of gas and dust collapses due to gravity, creating a protostar. Step 2 - Blue - Gravitational energy powers the young star until... Step 3 - Yellow - … nuclear fusion occurs.
What is Stage 5 of a star?
Stage 5 - A star of one solar mass remains in main sequence for about 10 billion years, until all of the hydrogen has fused to form helium. Stage 6 - The helium core now starts to contract further and reactions begin to occur in a shell around the core.
What is the life cycle of a star simplified?
Summary. A star begins its life in a nebula, struggles to balance gravitational pull and internal pressure during its main sequence period, and ends its life in an explosion to eventually become a white or black dwarf, or a neutron star, or a black hole.
How do stars form step by step?
Formation of Stars Like the SunSTAGE 1: AN INTERSTELLAR CLOUD.STAGE 2: A COLLAPSING CLOUD FRAGMENT.STAGE 3: FRAGMENTATION CEASES.STAGE 4: A PROTOSTAR.STAGE 5: PROTOSTELLAR EVOLUTION.STAGE 6: A NEWBORN STAR.STAGE 7: THE MAIN SEQUENCE AT LAST.
Does a star have a life cycle?
A star's life cycle is determined by its mass. The larger its mass, the shorter its life cycle. A star's mass is determined by the amount of matter that is available in its nebula, the giant cloud of gas and dust from which it was born.
What is the correct order for the life cycle of a large star?
as our sun (just on a larger scale) upto the Main Sequence stage, Then the massive stars expand into a Red Supergiant, Explode into a Supernova, Then turn into a Black Hole or a Neutron Star.
What are the 10 stages of a star?
Life Cycle of a Star: How Many Stages Are There?A nebula. Nebula is the starting phase for all stars, including our Sun, which begins in clouds of gas and dust. ... Small or Average Star. ... Red Giant. ... Planetary Nebula. ... White Dwarf. ... Large Star. ... Red Supergiant. ... Supernova.More items...•
What are the 6 stages of the Sun's life cycle?
1 Answer. Phillip E. The Sun's lifecycle is nebula, main sequence star, red giant, white dwarf.
What is the life cycle of a star?
The life cycle of a star is the sequence of events that take place in the life of a star from its birth to its end
Which of the following is valid?
The larger the mass of a star the shorter its life cycle.
How long does the main sequence of a low mass star last?
Several billion years
How long does the main sequence of a large mass star last?
In the order of millions of years. Lower mass stars burn more slowly, and have a main sequence that lasts several billion years - like our sun for...
Are black dwarfs visible with telescopes?
No, as black dwarfs cannot exist in the universe yet as the time needed for a star to become a black dwarf is longer then the current age of the un...
What is a nebula?
Nebulae are massive clouds containing dust and gases (primarily hydrogen) that facilitate the formation of stars.
What is a protostar?
A protostar is a dense body of gas which forms in a nebula due to the gas and dust contracting under its own gravity, a process known as accretion...
What is accretion?
Accretion is the accumulation of distributed matter into a larger body due to the influence of gravity. Accretion results in the growing body becom...
Choose YES or NO: Do stars die?
Yes, stars do die once they complete their lifecycle.
What are the different stages of life cycle of stars?
Different stages of life cycle of stars are: Giant Gas Cloud Protostar T-Tauri Phase Main Sequence Red Giant The Fusion of Heavier Elements Superno...
In which stage, star converts hydrogen atoms into helium at its core?
This process takes place in the red giant stage.
which reaction takes place inside the star?
Nuclear fusion reaction takes place inside the star.
How does the life cycle of a star work?
Life Cycle Of A Star. Stars go through a natural cycle, much like any living beings. This cycle begins with birth, expands through a lifespan characterized by change and growth, and ultimately leads to death. The time frame in the life cycle of stars is entirely different from the life cycle of a living being, lasting in the order of billions ...
What determines how a star will shine?
Stars come in a variety of masses and the mass determines how radiantly the star will shine and how it dies. Massive stars transform into supernovae, neutron stars and black holes while average stars like the sun, end life as a white dwarf surrounded by a disappearing planetary nebula. All stars, irrespective of their size, ...
What is the T-Tauri phase?
T-Tauri Phase. A T-Tauri star begins when materials stop falling into the Protostar and release tremendous amounts of energy. The mean temperature of the Tauri star isn’t enough to support nuclear fusion at its core.
How do you see protostars?
This results in the formation of a warm clump of molecules referred to as the Protostar. The creation of Protostars can be seen through infrared vision as the Protostars are warmer than other materials in the molecular cloud.
How long do red dwarf stars burn?
These red dwarves are difficult to spot. But, these may be the most common stars that can burn for trillions of years. The above were the seven main stages of the life cycle of a star. Whether big or small, young or old, stars are one of the most beautiful and lyrical objects in all of creation.
How does a star expand?
Without the reactions occurring at the core, a star contracts inward through gravity causing it to expand.
What is the main sequence phase?
The main sequence phase is the stage in development where the core temperature reaches the point for the fusion to commence. In this process, the protons of hydrogen are converted into atoms of helium. This reaction is exothermic; it gives off more heat than it requires and so the core of a main-sequence star releases a tremendous amount of energy.
How is the life cycle of a star determined?
A star's life cycle is determined by its mass. The larger its mass, the shorter its life cycle. A star's mass is determined by the amount of matter that is available in its nebula, the giant cloud of gas and dust from which it was born. Over time, the hydrogen gas in the nebula is pulled together by gravity and it begins to spin.
What happens to the outer layers of a star as it collapses?
As the core collapses, the outer layers of the star are expelled. A planetary nebula is formed by the outer layers. The core remains as a white dwarf and eventually cools to become a black dwarf. On the right of the illustration is the life cycle of a massive star (10 times or more the size of our Sun).
How hot is the core of a star?
The core temperature rises to over 100 billion degrees as the iron atoms are crushed together. The repulsive force between the nuclei overcomes the force of gravity, and the core recoils out from the heart of the star in a shock wave, which we see as a supernova explosion.
What happens to the core of a low mass star?
As the core collapses, the outer layers of the star are expelled. A planetary nebula is formed by the outer layers. The core remains as a white dwarf and eventually cools to become a black dwarf.
What happens to the Sun's core when it glows?
When the hydrogen supply in the core begins to run out, and the star is no longer generating heat by nuclear fusion , the core becomes unstable and contracts.
What happens when a star is 5 times bigger than the Sun?
From Red Giant to Supernova: The Evolutionary Path of High Mass Stars. Once stars that are 5 times or more massive than our Sun reach the red giant phase , their core temperature increases as carbon atoms are formed from the fusion of helium atoms.
How does hydrogen gas spin?
Over time, the hydrogen gas in the nebula is pulled together by gravity and it begins to spin. As the gas spins faster, it heats up and becomes as a protostar. Eventually the temperature reaches 15,000,000 degrees and nuclear fusion occurs in the cloud's core.
How does a star's life start?
A star’s glorious life starts in a nebula, progresses by fusing elements together, gets old by expanding, and dies when they leave most of their mass behind. If we’ve missed any important steps, we will appreciate if you leave your opinion in the comments below.
How does a main sequence star work?
A main-sequence star is kept in a balance where its size is consistent for millions or billions of years. While their gravity makes it collapse on itself, the resulting nuclear fusion from the pressure creates an outward force that perfectly cancels out the star’s gravity. In other words, a star is in a continuous fight between gravity ...
What happens when a white dwarf dies?
Although white dwarfs are incredibly dense, they are not the densest thing in the Universe. When a massive star dies, it explodes into a supernova. The outer layers of a star quickly head toward the star’s core and bounce outward by a wave of neutrinos created by the supernova.
What is happening in the core of a star?
What’s happening in the core of a star is not combustion. It’s the nuclear fusion that results from the immense temperature inside the core. The particles move so fast that they merge when they collide. Counter-intuitively, the least massive stars last longer than the most massive stars.
Why is a star bigger than a giant star?
Meanwhile, it becomes even larger than a regular giant star because the nuclear fusion is a lot quicker. When a star’s core is literally full of iron, it cannot fuse and generate an outward force anymore. Therefore, gravity will start compressing the star so much that the protons and electrons merge into neutrons.
How do stars' mass determine their mass?
Their mass is determined by environmental factors, such as the mass of the fragment. The mass will judge whether it is a rogue planet, a brown dwarf, or a star.
What happens when a star goes out of order?
In other words, a star is in a continuous fight between gravity and nuclear fusion, and if something goes out of order, the star either shrinks or expands. A star is not a fireball. It’s more like a nuclear power plant. What’s happening in the core of a star is not combustion. It’s the nuclear fusion that results from the immense temperature inside ...
What is the starting phase of a star?
Nebula is the starting phase for all stars, including our Sun, which begins in clouds of gas and dust. When a dense region in a nebula begins to shrink and warm up, it forms a protostar. As long as materials are still falling inward, an object will always be considered a protostar!
How long does it take for a star to live?
The life cycle of any star, from birth to death, and all the stages in between, will take millions or even billions of years. This is why stars don't seem to change at all, a human lifetime is a fraction of the blink of an eye for this giant.
What is the largest star in the universe?
Red supergiants are supergiant stars of the K-M spectrum type and luminosity class I. They are similar to red giants, and are the largest stars in the universe in terms of physical size even if they are not the most massive.
What happens to the core of a supernova?
After the supernova explodes, the star's core is left behind the form of either a black hole or a neutron star. A cubic metre of a neutron star would weigh just less than 400 billion tons, making their surface gravity truly immense.
What is a planetary nebula?
Planetary Nebula. A planetary nebula is an expanding plasma that is cast off towards the end of a low-mass star life. It becomes highly unstable and starts to pulsate, which results in the outer layers drifting away from the star.
What happens when the outer layer of a star drifts away?
As the outer layers drift away from the star, the remaining core shines brightly. Now, the core becomes a white dwarf star. It’s very hot but there are no longer nuclear reactions taking place inside.
How long do stars last?
They may only last a few hundred thousand years.
How do stars begin their life cycle?
Life cycles of stars. All stars begin life in the same way. A cloud of dust and gas, also known as a nebula, becomes a protostar, which goes on to become a main seque nce star. Following this, stars develop in different ways depending on their size. Stars that are a similar size to the Sun follow the left hand path:
What is the main sequence star?
During this stable phase in the life of a star, the force of gravity holding the star together is balanced by higher pressure due to the high temperatures. The Sun is at this stable phase in its life.
What is the process that drives the formation of stars?
Gravity and nuclear fusion reactions drive the formation and development of stars. Stars with different masses grow and change throughout the different stages of their lives.
What is the star made of?
A star forms from massive clouds of dust and gas in space, also known as a nebula. Nebulae are mostly composed of hydrogen.
Which star is the same size as the Sun?
Stars that are far greater in mass than the Sun follow the right hand path: red super giant star (rightarrow) supernova (rightarrow) neutron star, or a black hole (depending on size)
What happens when all the hydrogen is used up in the fusion process?
When all the hydrogen has been used up in the fusion process, larger nuclei begin to form and the star may expand to become a red giant.
What happens to the stars when they reach the red giant phase?
Once a medium size star (such as our Sun) has reached the red giant phase, its outer layers continue to expand, the core contracts inward, and helium atoms in the core fuse together to form carbon. This fusion releases energy and the star gets a temporary reprieve.
How long does it take for a star to run out of hydrogen?
After millions to billions of years, depending on their initial masses, stars run out of their main fuel - hydrogen. Once the ready supply of hydrogen in the core is gone, nuclear processes occurring there cease. Without the outward pressure generated from these reactions to counteract the force of gravity, the outer layers of the star begin to collapse inward toward the core. Just as during formation, when the material contracts, the temperature and pressure increase. This newly generated heat temporarily counteracts the force of gravity, and the outer layers of the star are now pushed outward. The star expands to larger than it ever was during its lifetime -- a few to about a hundred times bigger. The star has become a red giant.
Why are neutron stars so interesting?
Neutron stars are fascinating because they are the densest objects known. Due to its small size and high density, a neutron star possesses a surface gravitational field about 300,000 times that of Earth. Neutron stars also have very intense magnetic fields - about 1,000,000,000,000 times stronger than Earth's.
Why is the White Dwarf stable?
It has become a white dwarf. White dwarfs are stable because the inward pull of gravity is balanced by the electrons in the core of the star repulsing each other. With no fuel left to burn, the hot star radiates its remaining heat into the coldness of space for many billions of years.
How does fusion happen?
The electrons are stripped off of their parent atoms, creating a plasma. The contraction continues and the nuclei in the plasma start moving faster and faster. Eventually, they approach each other so fast that they overcome the electrical repulsion that exists between their protons. The nuclei crash into each other so hard that they stick together, or fuse. In doing so, they give off a great deal of energy. This energy from fusion pours out from the core, setting up an outward pressure in the gas around it that balances the inward pull of gravity. When the released energy reaches the outer layers of the ball of gas and dust , it moves off into space in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The ball, now a star, begins to shine.
What happens to the core of a supergiant?
Unlike in smaller stars, where the core becomes essentially all carbon and stable, the intense pressure inside the supergiant causes the electrons to be forced inside of (or combined with) the protons, forming neutrons. In fact, the whole core of the star becomes nothing but a dense ball of neutrons.
How do stars fight gravity?
Throughout their lives, stars fight the inward pull of the force of gravity. It is only the outward pressure created by the nuclear reactions pushing away from the star's core that keeps the star "intact". But these nuclear reactions require fuel, in particular hydrogen.
What happens in stage 3 of a star's life cycle?
Stage three: Once the temperature has risen to the correct heat, hydrogen nuclei undergo nuclear fusion to create helium nuclie which then produces mass amounts of heat and light. That was the birth of a new star. It then enters a long period of time in which heat is created by nuclear fusion.
How long does the main sequence star last?
By this time the star and entered into a state called the Main Sequence Star which last for approximately 10 billion years. Stage Four: The hydrogen begins to run out and the stars grows into a red giant.
How do stars form?
Stars go through many stages throughout their lives in in our Universe. Stars form from mainly gas and dust. Stage two: Gravity pushes the dust particles causing them to spiral together, the gravitional energy is converted into heat energy causing the temperature to rise.
Why is the star red?
The star is coloured red because the surface is cooler than it's former temperature. Stage five: A small star like the sun will begin to contract and cool forming into a dwarf planet that is coloured white named a white dwarf. Then it finally turns into a black dwarf planet and becomes non visible.
Before A Star Is Born
Main-Sequence Stars
- A main-sequence star is kept in a balance where its size is consistent for millions or billions of years. While their gravity makes it collapse on itself, the resulting nuclear fusion from the pressure creates an outward force that perfectly cancels out the star’s gravity. In other words, a star is in a continuous fight between gravity and nuclear ...
Giant Stars
- When a star gets old, it runs out of hydrogen. What happens now? The star shrinks because there is no fuel. However, the pressure and temperature in the core increase when it shrinks, which makes the core burn helium faster. For a medium-sized star, its life ends here. The core cannot be dense enough to continue fusing elements. At that time, it gets rid of its outer layers, which leav…
The End of Their Lives
- When a medium-sized star ends its life, it becomes a white dwarf surrounded by a planetary nebula that is formerly the outer parts of the star. Although white dwarfs are incredibly dense, they are not the densest thing in the Universe. When a massive star dies, it explodes into a supernova. The outer layers of a star quickly head toward the star’s core and bounce outward by a wave of n…
Creating Other Stars
- After a star dies, the remnant of the star isa molecular cloud.That means it can start the star formation process all over again. And that’s how new stars form after old stars die. If this chain doesn’t exist, our Universe will only have one generation of stars, which means that we cannot exist. Some of the essential elements in our bodies are created by supernovas. They are so heav…
Conclusion
- In this article, we’ve talked about a star’s birth, death, and how they provide material for other stars to form. A star’s glorious life starts in a nebula, progresses by fusing elements together, gets old by expanding, and dies when they leave most of their mass behind. If we’ve missed any important steps, we will appreciate if you leave your opinion in the comments below. Moreover, if you wan…
References and Credits
- Richard Brill. (1999, December 6). How is a star born? Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-is-a-star-born/
- NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. (n.d.). Stars. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve
- Isabelle Dumé. (2005, November 16). How do stars form? – Physics World. Retrieved June 1…
- Richard Brill. (1999, December 6). How is a star born? Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-is-a-star-born/
- NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. (n.d.). Stars. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve
- Isabelle Dumé. (2005, November 16). How do stars form? – Physics World. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from https://physicsworld.com/a/how-do-stars-form/
- (n.d.). Stars. Retrieved June 16, 2021, from https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/stars1.html
