Life Cycle of a Star
NEBULA
A nebula is a cloud of hydrogen gas and dust in space. Nebulae are the birthplace of stars.
STAR
A star is a glowing globe of gas producing its own heat and light by nuclear reactions. They are born from Nubula and consist mostly of hydrogen and helium gas. The surface temperature of a star range from 2000 C to above 30, 000 C.
RED GIANT
This is a large bright star with a cool surface. Its formed during the later stages of evolution of a star like the sun, as it runs out of hydrogen at its centre.
RED DWARF
These are very cool, faint and small stars. They are estimated to be one tenth the mass and diameter of the sun. The Red Dwarfs burn very slowly and can approximately have a lifetime of 100 billion years. Proxima Centauri and Barnard's Star are red dwarf stars.
WHITE DWARF
This is a very small, hot star, the last stage in the life cycle of a star. The surface temperature of a white dwarf is 8000 C. White dwarfs are shrivelled remains of normal stars, those whose nuclear energy supplies are used up.
SUPERNOVA
This is the fiery explosive death of a star, and sometimes results in the star obtaining the brightness of 100 million suns for a short period of time. There are two types of supernovas. Type 1 supernovas occur in binary star systems, which gas from one star falls on to a white dwarf, causing it to explode. Type 2 supernovas occur in stars larger or the same size as the sun that suffer runaway internal nuclear reactions at the end of their lives, which leads to an explosion.
NEUTRON STARS
When a supernova explodes, it's protons and neutrons combine to produce a neutron star. Neutron stars are very dense.
BLACK HOLES
Black Holes are believed to form from massive stars at the end of their lives. The gravitational pull in a black hole is so strong that nothing can escape from it, not even light. Black holes distort the space around them, and can suck neighbouring matter into them such as stars.
A nebula is a cloud of hydrogen gas and dust in space. Nebulae are the birthplace of stars.
STAR
A star is a glowing globe of gas producing its own heat and light by nuclear reactions. They are born from Nubula and consist mostly of hydrogen and helium gas. The surface temperature of a star range from 2000 C to above 30, 000 C.
RED GIANT
This is a large bright star with a cool surface. Its formed during the later stages of evolution of a star like the sun, as it runs out of hydrogen at its centre.
RED DWARF
These are very cool, faint and small stars. They are estimated to be one tenth the mass and diameter of the sun. The Red Dwarfs burn very slowly and can approximately have a lifetime of 100 billion years. Proxima Centauri and Barnard's Star are red dwarf stars.
WHITE DWARF
This is a very small, hot star, the last stage in the life cycle of a star. The surface temperature of a white dwarf is 8000 C. White dwarfs are shrivelled remains of normal stars, those whose nuclear energy supplies are used up.
SUPERNOVA
This is the fiery explosive death of a star, and sometimes results in the star obtaining the brightness of 100 million suns for a short period of time. There are two types of supernovas. Type 1 supernovas occur in binary star systems, which gas from one star falls on to a white dwarf, causing it to explode. Type 2 supernovas occur in stars larger or the same size as the sun that suffer runaway internal nuclear reactions at the end of their lives, which leads to an explosion.
NEUTRON STARS
When a supernova explodes, it's protons and neutrons combine to produce a neutron star. Neutron stars are very dense.
BLACK HOLES
Black Holes are believed to form from massive stars at the end of their lives. The gravitational pull in a black hole is so strong that nothing can escape from it, not even light. Black holes distort the space around them, and can suck neighbouring matter into them such as stars.