Mass -> Star Paths
A nova will leave behind a dense core, illuminating the gas around it. It has a typical mass of 0.05 to 0.07 M
White dwarf
This process leaves behind a dense core, called a white dwarf, illuminating its surrounding gas called a planetary nebula.
Nova
The star uses this reaction to fuse hydrogen atoms and form helium, which becomes the main source of radiated energy by main sequence stars. The reaction results in a helium nucleus with two leftover particles.
Proton-proton chain
This is a very hot and dense section of a Star where nuclear fusion occurs.
Core
This is the layer of a star where plasma rays show visible light, which we see best during solar eclipses.
Corona
A red giant has two possible fates: the first when it's mass ranges from 0.08-8 M, and the second when it's fate ranges from 8-30 M.
Nova and supernova
Once a Star starts to run out of fuel for its fusion, it expands and becomes a *blank.* The rest of its journey now depends on its mass. It's the late stage of a star, where it has expanded, cooled, and gained a notable color.
Red giant
Massive stars with greater mass and temperature form helium using the *blank*, which is a series of nuclear reactions making hydrogen into helium. It uses carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen as catalysts.
CNO Cycle
This is the largest region of a Star where energy is transferred through radiation.
Radiation zone
What is the range of the mass of a black hole after a supernova?
3 - 100 M
Black hole and neutron star.
Small and dense, this stage is inside the giant molecular clouds, a space where stars are formed in stellar nurseries. This region is also where a protostar forms.
Cloud cores
It takes approximately 100,000 years for this particle to go from the sun's core and radiation zone to the surface. Once it gets to the surface, it takes about 8 minutes to come to earth, so light then reaches us.
Photon
This is the region of a Star where light is transformed into heat through convection.
Convection zone.
This forms when a protostar has a mass less than 0.08. This is because it is not able to fuse hydrogen and helium, making it a “failed star.”
Brown dwarf
What is the typical mass range of the end fate of a white dwarf
0.17 - 1.33 M
The force of gravity pulls the star inward while pressure in the core pushes the star outward. This is a state of thermo-gravitational equilibrium, so the star is officially a *blank.*
Main sequence star
All of the elements up to *blank* can be fused in a star's core because the fusion reactions releasing energy. The process stops at *blank* because the energy required to fuse it is greater than the energy released during the fusion process. This means that instead of continuing to fuse heavier elements, the core collapses, leading to a supernova.
iron
This section of a Star is where visible light that we see comes from, and also contains sunspots, which are temporary spots on a sun's surface that appear darker than their surroundings because they're cooler.
Photosphere
This forms when the center of a very massive star collapses in upon itself after a supernova, and anything that's left of the star (its mass) is compacted into a very small and dense object. It is significantly larger than a neutron star, and as it collapses, it's gravity is so intense that it sucks everything into it, including light.
Black hole.
What is the typical mass of the end fate of a neutron star
1.4 M
When massive stars completely run out of fuel, gravity overcomes the pressure and causes the star to collapse and rapidly expand in a huge explosion called a supernova. It will likely then leave behind a dense core called a *blank.*
Neutron star
A process where two light atomic nuclei combine to form a single heavier one while releasing massive amounts of energy. For this process to occur, high temperatures and pressures are needed to overcome the electrostatic repulsion between the positively charged nuclei.
Nuclear fusion
Chromosphere
Name every stage of a Star in order