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Life Cycle of Stars Model
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Average Star
Nuclear Reactions: The dominant fusion process is proton-proton fusion. Thus, average stars like the sun have lower internal temperatures and can only form elements #2-#26 on the periodic table.
Proportion of Elements used during life cycle: These stars use nuclear fusion as their energy source, fusing helium, hydrogen, carbon, etc. However, as the star gets older, the less amount of the smaller elements like Hydrogen they will have. When a star gets to the Red Giant phase, it has already burned all of its fuel (hydrogen).
Qualitative Description of energy released from stars:
Red Giant
Planetary Nebula
As stars burn their fuel throughout their lifetime, they begin to contract and get smaller, eventually swelling up into a giant star (red giant). At this point, the layers of the star are traveling inward while, simultaneously, the star is getting hotter. Thus, elements 2-26 on the periodic table are able to be created through nuclear fusion.
Relative Size: about 62 million to 621 million miles across (100 to 1,000 times the size of the sun)
After the red giant stage, the star eventually "ejects" the elements that have resulted from fusion and fission; these elements that have been "thrown off" the star form the planetary nebula.
Relative size: the size of a planetary nebula is roughly one light year across.
Average star
Once the dust particles of a smaller stellar nebula are so compressed, eventually, an average star is formed
An example of an average star is our sun, because it is not very massive compared to other stars.
Stars shine because of the nuclear reactions occurring in their core.
They use hydrogen fuel for those reactions.
As the hydrogen fuel begins to run out stars change colors, sizes, etc, before exploding into a Red giant.
Relative Size: The sun is the size of an average star, and it is 864,400 miles across.
White Dwarf
After a star has gone through the planetary nebula phase, it becomes a white dwarf, which eventually cools down to become a black dwarf
Relative Size: White dwarfs are smaller than the Sun, having a radius of about 7,000 km
White Dwarf
Average Star
(Sun)
Planetary Nebula
Red Giant
Stellar Nebula
Clouds of hydrogen, helium, dust, and gas which form new stars.
The clouds that make up stellar nebular form new stars, this is beginning of the whole cycle.
Neutron Star
When a massive star runs out of fuel and collapses, a neutron star is formed. Heavier elements can also be created by a collision between two neutron stars, or a collision between a neutron star and a black hole.
Relative size: About 20 km across (diameter).
Red Supergiant
Stellar Nebula
Red supergiants are similar to red giants; they form when a massive star runs out of fuel and has fused elements 2-26 on the periodic table.
Relative size: Considering that red supergiants are derived from massive stars, they are about 1800 times the size of the Sun.
Supernova
After a massive star has been compressed (and formed the elements from helium to iron), gravity triggers an explosion called a supernova. The large amount of energy that is created during a supernova explosion allows the creation of heavier elements (greater than 26 on the periodic table) to occur.
Relative size: About 8-15 times larger than the Sun.
Neutron Star
Massive Star
Massive stars are much larger than the Sun (average stars), and they have shorter lifetimes due to the fact that they burn their fuel much more quickly.
They're formed from more massive stellar n nebulas from compressed particles
Black Hole
Along with a supernova explosion, a black hole can also be formed when a massive star collapses upon itself.
Relative size: It has a diameter of about 78 billion miles.
Massive star
Supernova
Black Hole
Red Supergiant
Massive Star
Nuclear Reactions: Since massive stars can reach higher temperatures their dominant fusion process is the carbon cycle. Thus, massive stars can form up to elements #27-#118 (supernova).
Proportion of Elements used during life cycle: Higher mass stars burn their fuel much more quickly than average-sized stars. When a massive stars gets to the Red Supergiant stage, it has already burned up all of its fuel and elements begin to fuse together. Finally, the star then undergoes a supernova explosion that releases all of the elements.