It is red due to cooling and giant due to swelling. The name red giant is because of its appearance. Expansion results in cooling and hence, it stars glowing red (due to the decrease in temperature). The outer layer of the star is mostly hydrogen and it starts to expand. This slows down the fusion process and the core begins to collapse due to the pressure. After the main sequence phase of the star nears the end, the hydrogen starts depleting. The amount of helium inside the core is limited. The sun in its main phase Red Giant Phase The sun has a main sequence span of nearly 10 billion years! But massive stars have less period, some even a few million years. All the hydrogen is fused together and helium is produced. The star now is called the Main Sequence star and it stably gives light and heat. The balance between the inward and outward force keeps the star stable and shining for eons. At this stage, the inward gravitational pull of the mass of the star is balanced by the outward push of the fusion core. This phase is the longest in the life cycle of a massive star, often continuing for millions to billions of years. The temperature is enough to begin the fusion of hydrogen atoms and this is the initiation of the third stage, the main sequence. The temperature starts rising and reaches 15,000,000 degrees Celsius. The core is pressured and heated due to the condensation of the mass of the star. Due to gravity, the gases collapse to form a core and a loosely bound structure called a star. This is the second stage in this process. This large cloud comes closer and becomes concentrated due to the gravitational pull. The nebula is a large cloud of dust that contains mostly hydrogen and some scarce amount of other elements. This is the first stage of the life cycle of a star, both for large and small stars. The life cycle of the sun is also explained in the following section. There is a brief description of each stage with an appropriate illustration. This section will discuss the stages of star evolution for a large star, many times larger than the sun. When it comes to the life span of a star, the bigger the star, the shorter its life span as it uses its fuel quickly. An example is Betelguese in the constellation of Orion. And finally, there are huge stars that are very hot and very bright. Then there are medium-sized stars, like our sun. First, there are small stars which aren’t too bright or hot. Stars are formed wherever a sufficient amount of dust is present. They work because the laws of the universe allow them to, like gravity and nuclear forces. Stars are heavenly bodies that have a core that can fuse hydrogen and produce heat and light. Before we learn about the life cycle of a massive star, first we have to know what a star is.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |