Life Cycle of Stars

Front

What is a nebula?

Back

An enormous cloud of dust and gas occupying the space between stars, acting as a nursery for new stars.

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What does luminosity refer to in astronomy?

Back

The intrinsic brightness of a celestial object.

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What are low mass stars?

Back

Stars with masses less than half the mass of the Sun; they are the smallest, coolest, and dimmest Main Sequence stars, often orange, red, or brown in color.

Front

What is a protostar?

Back

A contracting mass of gas that represents an early stage in the formation of a star, before nucleosynthesis has begun.

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What is a supernova?

Back

A star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness due to a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of its mass.

Front

What is the main sequence in the life cycle of a star?

Back

The main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness, where stars spend most of their life cycle fusing hydrogen into helium.

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What is a red giant?

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A late stage in the life cycle of a star where it expands and cools after exhausting the hydrogen in its core.

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What is a black hole?

Back

A region of space having a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape from it, formed from the remnants of a massive star after a supernova.

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What is the difference between high mass stars and low mass stars?

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High mass stars have greater than twice the mass of the Sun and evolve more quickly, while low mass stars are less than half the mass of the Sun and evolve more slowly.

Front

What is nucleosynthesis?

Back

The process by which new atomic nuclei are created from existing nucleons (protons and neutrons), occurring in stars during their life cycles.