STARS

TYPES OF STARS

GENERAL

PROTOSTARS

All stars start from a dense region within molecular clouds, also called a stellar nursery. This stage of a stars life cycle lasts around 500,000 years.

T TAURI STARS

T Tauri Stars are pre main sequence stars that are younger than 10 million years old. They are found near molecular clouds. They are considered a variable star because their size can change over time.

LOW MASS STARS

MAIN SEQUENCE STARS

Any star that has a hot, dense core which fuses hydrogen into helium to produce energy is considered a main sequence star. There are two types: low mass main sequence stars and high mass main sequence stars. An example of a low mass main sequence star is our Sun. Low mass main sequence stars are less hot than high mass main sequence stars and are more red or orange in color. They usually live to 10 billion years old before they turn into a red giant.

RED GIANTS

Red giants are stars that have exhausted the supply of hydrogen in its core and has begun thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen in a shell surrounding the core. It is a dying star in its final stages of stellar evolution. In around five billion years, the Sun will become a red giant.

PLANETARY NEBULA

Planetary nebulas are a type of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from red giant stars late in their lives.

WHITE DWARF

White dwarfs are stars that have burned up all of the hydrogen they once used as nuclear fuel. Their mass is comparable to the Sun, but their volume is comparable to Earth.

HIGH MASS STARS

MAIN SEQUENCE STARS

High mass main sequence stars are much more hot than the low mass main sequence stars. They are also more blue in color.

RED SUPERGIANTS

Red supergiants are the largest stars in the universe in terms of volume, but not the most massive or bright. They are an aging giant star that has consumed its core's supply of hydrogen fuel, similar to the red giant but much larger.

SUPERNOVA

Supernovas are a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova happens where there is a change in the core, or center, of a star. The first type of supernova happens in binary star systems. the second type occurs at the end of star's lifetime. As the star runs out of nuclear fuel, some of its mass flows into its core. Eventually, the core is so heavy that it cannot withstand its own gravitational force. The core implodes, which results in the giant explosion of a supernova.

NEUTRON STAR

At the end of a star's lifetime, it will either turn into a neutron star or a black hole. Neutron stars are the collapsed core of a massive supergiant star. Most neutron stars are billions of years old

BLACK HOLES

Sometimes high mass stars turn into black holes at the end of their life cycles. The picture to the left is the first ever picture of a black hole, Sagittarius A, taken in April of 2017. A black hole is a dense, compact object whose gravitational pull is so strong that – within a certain distance of it – nothing can escape, not even light.

CONSTELLATIONS

Constellation are a group of stars that form a shape. They were used for navigation and agriculture.

WANT MORE PRACTICE OR LEARN MORE?

Youtube:

Stars: Crash Course Astronomy #26:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld75W1dz-h0

Low Mass Stars: Crash Course Astronomy #29:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfvMtCHv1q4

High Mass Stars: Crash Course Astronomy #31:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWx9DurgPn8

Black Holes: Crash Course Astronomy #33:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZWPBKULkdQ

Kahoot:

https://play.kahoot.it/v2/?quizId=48d6ed2e-5785-4600-a1ba-530dafcb8442

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