Star Life Cycle

.All stars form in nebulae, which are huge clouds of gas and dust.
Though they shine for

many thousands, and even millions of years, stars do not last forever. The changes that
occur in a star over time and the final stage of its life depend on a star's size.
Nuclear reactions at the centre (or core) of a star provides energy which makes it shine
brightly. This stage is called the 'main sequence'. The exact lifetime of a star depends
very much on its size. Very massive stars use up their fuel quickly. This means they
may only last a few hundred thousand years. Smaller stars use up fuel more slowly so
will shine for several billion years.
Eventually, the hydrogen which powers the nuclear reactions inside a star begins to run
out. The star then enters the final phases of its lifetime. All stars will expand, cool and
change colour to become a red giant. What happens next depends on how massive the
star is.
A smaller star, like the Sun, will gradually cool down and stop glowing. During these
changes it will go through the planetary nebula phase, and white dwarf phase. After
many thousands of millions of years it will stop glowing and become a black dwarf.
A massive star experiences a much more energetic and violent end. It explodes as a
supernova. This scatters materials from inside the star across space. This material can
collect in nebulae and form the next generation of stars. After the dust clears, a very
dense neutron star is left behind. These spin rapidly and can give off streams of
radiation, known as pulsars.
If the star is especially massive, when it explodes it forms a black hole.
Stars go through a natural cycle, much like any living beings. This cycle begins with
birth, expands through a lifespan characterized by change and growth, and ultimately
leads to death. The time frame in the life cycle of stars is entirely different from the life
cycle of a living being, lasting in the order of billions of years. In this piece of article, let
us discuss the life cycle of stars and its different stages.
Seven Main Stages of a Star

Stars come in a variety of masses and the mass determines how radiantly the star will
shine and how it dies. Massive stars transform into supernovae, neutron stars and black
holes while average stars like the sun, end life as a white dwarf surrounded by a
disappearing planetary nebula. All stars, irrespective of their size, follow the same 7
stage cycle, they start as a gas cloud and end as a star remnant.
1. Giant Gas Cloud

A star originates from a large cloud of gas. The temperature in the cloud is low enough
for the synthesis of molecules. The Orion cloud complex in the Orion system is an
example of a star in this stage of life.
2. Protostar
When the gas particles in the molecular cloud run into each other, heat energy is
produced. This results in the formation of a warm clump of molecules referred to as the
Protostar. The creation of Protostars can be seen through infrared vision as the
Protostars are warmer than other materials in the molecular cloud. Several Protostars
can be formed in one cloud, depending on the size of the molecular cloud.
3. T-Tauri Phase
A T-Tauri star begins when materials stop falling into the Protostar and release
tremendous amounts of energy. The mean temperature of the Tauri star isn’t enough to
support nuclear fusion at its core. The T-Tauri star lasts for about 100 million years,
following which it enters the most extended phase of development – the Main sequence
phase.
4. Main Sequence
The main sequence phase is the stage in development where the core temperature
reaches the point for the fusion to commence. In this process, the protons of hydrogen
are converted into atoms of helium. This reaction is exothermic; it gives off more heat
than it requires and so the core of a main-sequence star releases a tremendous amount
of energy.
5. Red Giant
A star converts hydrogen atoms into helium over its course of life at its core. Eventually,
the hydrogen fuel runs out, and the internal reaction stops. Without the reactions
occurring at the core, a star contracts inward through gravity causing it to expand. As it
expands, the star first becomes a subgiant star and then a red giant. Red giants have
cooler surfaces than the main-sequence star, and because of this, they appear red than
yellow.
6. The Fusion of Heavier Elements

Helium molecules fuse at the core, as the star expands. The energy of this reaction
prevents the core from collapsing. The core shrinks and begins fusing carbon, once the
helium fusion ends. This process repeats until iron appears at the core. The iron fusion
reaction absorbs energy, which causes the core to collapse. This implosion transforms
massive stars into a supernova while smaller stars like the sun contract into white
dwarfs.
7. Supernovae and Planetary Nebulae

Most of the star material is blasted away into space, but the core implodes into a
neutron star or a singularity known as the black hole. Less massive stars don’t explode,
their cores contract instead into a tiny, hot star known as the white dwarf while the outer
material drifts away. Stars tinier than the sun, don’t have enough mass to burn with
anything but a red glow during their main sequence. These red dwarves are difficult to
spot. But, these may be the most common stars that can burn for trillions of years.
The above were the seven main stages of the life cycle of a star. Whether big or small,
young or old, stars are one of the most beautiful and lyrical objects in all of creation.
Next time you look up at the stars, remember, this is how they were created and how
they will die.
References:
https://www.schoolsobservatory.org/learn/astro/stars/cycle#:~:text=Very%20massive
%20stars%20use%20up,star%20begins%20to%20run%20out.
https://byjus.com/physics/life-cycle-of-stars/

Star Life Cycle

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.All stars form in nebulae, which are huge clouds of gas and dust.

Though they shine for

If the star is especially massive, when it explodes it forms a black hole.

Seven Main Stages of a Star

1. Giant Gas Cloud

6. The Fusion of Heavier Elements

7. Supernovae and Planetary Nebulae

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