Life Cycle of a Star

Front

What is a nebula?

Back

A cloud of dust and gas in space, held together by gravity, where stars are born.

Front

What is a red supergiant?

Back

A stage in a high-mass star's life that is very similar to the red giant, but expands faster, lasts longer, and gets bigger.

Front

What is a white dwarf?

Back

The stage in a low-mass star's life during which the remains of a red giant are a glowing ball of gas about the size of Earth.

Front

What is the life cycle of a massive-sized star?

Back

Nebula > Protostar > Main sequence star > Red supergiant > Supernova > Black hole or Neutron star.

Front

What is a supernova?

Back

The stage in a high-mass star's life during which it collapses in on itself rapidly and then explodes outward.

Front

What is a protostar?

Back

The early stage of a star's formation, where a cloud of gas and dust begins to collapse under gravity.

Front

What is a main-sequence star?

Back

A stable phase in a star's life where it fuses hydrogen into helium in its core.

Front

What happens during the red giant phase?

Back

A star expands and cools after exhausting hydrogen in its core, leading to the fusion of heavier elements.

Front

What is a black hole?

Back

A region in space where the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from it.

Front

What is a neutron star?

Back

A dense remnant of a supernova explosion, composed mostly of neutrons.