What is the life cycle of a low mass star?

For low-mass stars (left hand side), after the helium has fused into carbon, the core collapses again. 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 are the stages of a low mass star?

Low mass star

• Main Sequence. Low mass stars spend billions of years fusing hydrogen to helium in their cores via the proton-proton chain. …
• Red Giant. When hydrogen fusion can no longer happen in the core, gravity begins to collapse the core again. …
• Planetary Nebula. …
• White Dwarf.

What is the life cycle of a low medium mass star?

Low-mass stars (less than 0.5 times the mass of our sun) become a red giant and then blow off some outer material which dissipates in the interstellar medium after a few hundred thousand years. The remainder of the star shrinks to a white dwarf. After a few billion years, white dwarfs cool to become black dwarfs.

What are the stages of the life cycle of a star?

All stars will expand, cool and change colour to become a red giant. What happens next depends on how massive the star is. A smaller star, like the Sun, will gradually cool down and stop glowing. During these changes it will go through the planetary nebula phase, and white dwarf phase.

What is the life cycle of a high mass star?

High-mass stars have lives of 10 million years, versus 10 to 50 billion years or more for low-mass stars. At the end of a high-mass star’s fusion process, iron composes the star’s core. No nuclear fusion of iron is possible out of a high-mass star core, which has the same mass as our entire Sun.

What is the first stage of a low mass star called?

protostar

The contracting cloud is then called a protostar. A protostar is the earliest stage of a star’s life. A star is born when the gas and dust from a nebula become so hot that nuclear fusion starts.

What are the 5 stages of a star?

The formation and life cycle of stars

• A nebula. A star forms from massive clouds of dust and gas in space, also known as a nebula. …
• Protostar. As the mass falls together it gets hot. …
• Main sequence star. …
• Red giant star. …
• White dwarf. …
• Supernova. …
• Neutron star or black hole.

What are some differences between low mass and high mass star life cycles?

Both, a low mass Star and a High mass Star will Start off with fusing hydrogen into Helium, though a high mass Star will burn it faster because of increased pressure and temperature in the core. A second difference is the ability to create heavier elements.

What are the 3 end stages of stars?

Three and stages of stars are white dwarf, neutron star and a black hole.

What is the life cycle of an average star?

Small or average stars usually last for several billion years as they burn their fuel slowly. A star the size of our Sun will spend around 10 billion years in this phase. After the main sequence phase, a star will turn into a red giant. It happens when helium builds up and the hydrogen fuel runs out.

In what form do both low mass and high mass stars begin and end their life cycles?

Answer: If the star is of low mass, it expands its outer layers, creating nebulae and a white dwarf forms from the core. If it is of high mass, death occurs in a massive explosion known as a supernova, the remaining core then transforms into a neutron star or a black hole.

How do low mass stars end their lives?

Low mass stars like the sun in their dying stages shed their outer layers transferring most of their mass into the interstellar medium. Massive stars go out with a bang as supernovas ejecting heavy elements into the interstellar medium. Low mass stars end up as white dwarf stars and eventually black dwarf stars.

What happens as a low mass star dies?

After a low mass star like the Sun exhausts the supply of hydrogen in its core, there is no longer any source of heat to support the core against gravity. Hydrogen burning continues in a shell around the core and the star evolves into a red giant.