Seven Main Stages of a Star

  • Giant Gas Cloud. A star originates from a large cloud of gas. …
  • Protostar. When the gas particles in the molecular cloud run into each other, heat energy is produced. …
  • T-Tauri Phase. …
  • Main Sequence. …
  • Red Giant. …
  • The Fusion of Heavier Elements. …
  • Supernovae and Planetary Nebulae.

Besides, How stars are formed into different stages?

Stars are formed in clouds of gas and dust, known as nebulae. … Eventually, however, the hydrogen fuel that powers the nuclear reactions within stars will begin to run out, and they will enter the final phases of their lifetime. Over time, they will expand, cool and change colour to become red giants.

Keeping this in mind, What are the 5 stages of a star?
What are the 5 stages of a star?

  • A nebula. A star forms from massive clouds of dust and gas in space, also known as a nebula.
  • Protostar. As the mass falls together it gets hot.
  • Main sequence star.
  • Red giant star.
  • White dwarf.
  • Supernova.
  • Neutron star or black hole.

What is a stars life cycle?

A star’s life cycle is determined by its mass. … As the main sequence star glows, hydrogen in its core is converted into helium by nuclear fusion. When the hydrogen supply in the core begins to run out, and the star is no longer generating heat by nuclear fusion, the core becomes unstable and contracts.

What are the three end stages of stars?


Three end stages of stars are:

  • White Dwarf.
  • Neutrons Star.
  • Black Hole.

What are the 5 stages of a low mass star?


Low mass star

  • Main Sequence. Low mass stars spend billions of years fusing hydrogen to helium in their cores via the proton-proton chain. …
  • Red Giant. When hydrogen fusion can no longer happen in the core, gravity begins to collapse the core again. …
  • Planetary Nebula. …
  • White Dwarf.

What is the first stage of a stars life cycle?

The gas in the nebula begins to glow. This is the first step in the life cycle of a star. It is called a protostar. This chemical change gives off a large amount of energy in the form of heat.

What is the main star sequence?

Main sequence stars fuse hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms in their cores. About 90 percent of the stars in the universe, including the sun, are main sequence stars. These stars can range from about a tenth of the mass of the sun to up to 200 times as massive.

How does a stars life begin?

All stars begin their lives from the collapse of material in a giant molecular cloud. These clouds are clouds that form between the stars and consist primarily of molecular gas and dust. … When the protostar starts fusing hydrogen, it enters the “main sequence” phase of its life.

Why is the life cycle of a star important?

Stars populate the universe with elements through their “lifecycle”—an ongoing process of formation, burning fuel, and dispersal of material when all the fuel is used up. Different stars take different paths, however, depending on how much matter they contain—their mass.

What is the dying stage of a star?

When the helium fuel runs out, the core will expand and cool. The upper layers will expand and eject material that will collect around the dying star to form a planetary nebula. Finally, the core will cool into a white dwarf and then eventually into a black dwarf. This entire process will take a few billion years.

What is the end of a star?

The events at the end of a star’s life depend on its mass. Really massive stars use up their hydrogen fuel quickly, but are hot enough to fuse heavier elements such as helium and carbon. Once there is no fuel left, the star collapses and the outer layers explode as a ‘supernova’.

What is the end product of stars?

A star of a few solar masses will ignite carbon fusion to form magnesium, neon, and smaller amounts of other elements, resulting in a white dwarf composed chiefly of oxygen, neon, and magnesium, provided that it can lose enough mass to get below the Chandrasekhar limit (see below), and provided that the ignition of …

What is the stages of a low mass star?

The exact stages of evolutions are: Subgiant Branch (SGB) – hydrogen shell burning – outer layers swell. Red Giant Branch – helium ash core compresses – increased hydrogen shell burning. First Dredge Up – expanding atmosphere cools star – stirs carbon, nitrogen and oxygen upward – star heats up.

What are the life stages of a low mass star quizlet?


Terms in this set (5)

  • Star Forming Nebula.
  • Nuclear Fusion Begins, Protostar.
  • Core Pressure Balances Gravity, Main Sequence Star aka adult.
  • Fuel Runs Out, Forces Unbalanced, Red Giant.

What are the low mass stars?

Low mass stars (stars with masses less than half the mass of the Sun) are the smallest, coolest and dimmest Main Sequence stars and orange, red or brown in colour. Low mass stars use up their hydrogen fuel very slowly and consequently have long lives.

What are the four stages of a stars life cycle?


The formation and life cycle of stars

  • A nebula. A star forms from massive clouds of dust and gas in space, also known as a nebula. …
  • Protostar. As the mass falls together it gets hot. …
  • Main sequence star. …
  • Red giant star. …
  • White dwarf. …
  • Supernova. …
  • Neutron star or black hole.

What is the first step of a star in old age?

The red giant is the first step in old age. Fusion is releasing more energy during helium burning than at the main sequence stage, so the star is bigger, but less stable.

Which is the most common type of main sequence star?

Red dwarf stars are the most common kind of stars in the Universe. These are main sequence stars but they have such low mass that they’re much cooler than stars like our Sun.

Why are most stars main sequence?

Since hydrogen is the most abundant element in stars, this process can maintain the star’s equilibrium for a long time. Thus, all stars remain on the main sequence for most of their lives.

How do you tell if a star is a main sequence?

Main sequence is when a star is burning hydrogen in its core. The luminosity and temperature of a main-sequence star are set by its mass. More massive means brighter and hotter. A ten solar mass star has about ten times the sun’s supply of nuclear energy.

Are stars alive?

Stars are not alive, and yet we speak of their origins and ends as “birth and death.” It’s a convenient, if fanciful, way of describing the ultimately ill-fated relationship between matter and energy that is a star.

What is a star for kids?

Stars are huge, glowing balls of gases. The closest star to Earth is the Sun. Most of the pinpricks of light that shine in the night sky are also stars. … Stars are found in huge groups called galaxies. The Sun and its solar system, including Earth, are part of the Milky Way galaxy.