The document discusses the stages of stellar evolution from the formation of stars from collapsing clouds of gas and dust to their eventual death. It explains that stars are formed from giant molecular clouds and over millions of years settle into protostars and eventually main sequence stars. The stages a star progresses through during its lifetime, such as red giant phase, depend on its original mass.
The document discusses the stages of stellar evolution from the formation of stars from collapsing clouds of gas and dust to their eventual death. It explains that stars are formed from giant molecular clouds and over millions of years settle into protostars and eventually main sequence stars. The stages a star progresses through during its lifetime, such as red giant phase, depend on its original mass.
The document discusses the stages of stellar evolution from the formation of stars from collapsing clouds of gas and dust to their eventual death. It explains that stars are formed from giant molecular clouds and over millions of years settle into protostars and eventually main sequence stars. The stages a star progresses through during its lifetime, such as red giant phase, depend on its original mass.
The document discusses the stages of stellar evolution from the formation of stars from collapsing clouds of gas and dust to their eventual death. It explains that stars are formed from giant molecular clouds and over millions of years settle into protostars and eventually main sequence stars. The stages a star progresses through during its lifetime, such as red giant phase, depend on its original mass.
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Stellar evolution
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Representative lifetimes of stars as a function
of their masses The change in size with time
of a Sun-like star Artist's depiction of the life cycle of a Sun-like star, starting as a main-sequence star at lower left then expanding through the subgiant and giant phases, until its outer envelope is expelled to form
a planetary nebula at upper right Chart of
stellar evolution Stellar evolution is the process by which a star changes over the course of time. Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years for the most massive to trillions of years for the least massive, which is considerably longer than the current age of the universe. The table shows the lifetimes of stars as a function of their masses.[1] All stars are formed from collapsing clouds of gas and dust, often called nebulae or molecular clouds. Over the course of millions of years, these protostars settle down into a state of equilibrium, becoming what is known as a main-sequence star. Nuclear fusion powers a star for most of its existence. Initially the energy is generated by the fusion of hydrogen atoms at the core of the main-sequence star. Later, as the preponderance of atoms at the core becomes helium, stars like the Sun begin to fuse hydrogen along a spherical shell surrounding the core. This process causes the star to gradually grow in size, passing through the subgiant stage until it reaches the red- giant phase. Stars with at least half the mass of the Sun can also begin to generate energy through the fusion of helium at their core, whereas more-massive stars can fuse heavier elements along a series of concentric shells. Once a star like the Sun has exhausted its nuclear fuel, its core collapses into a dense white dwarf and the outer layers are expelled as a planetary nebula. Stars with around ten or more times the mass of the Sun can explode in a supernova as their inert iron cores collapse into an extremely dense neutron star or black hole. Although the universe is not old enough for any of the smallest red dwarfs to have reached the end of their existence, stellar models suggest they will slowly become brighter and hotter before running out of hydrogen fuel and becoming low-mass white dwarfs.[2] Stellar evolution is not studied by observing the life of a single star, as most stellar changes occur too slowly to be detected, even over many centuries. Instead, astrophysicists come to understand how stars evolve by observing numerous stars at various points in their lifetime, and by simulating stellar structure using computer models. Star formation[edit]
Simplistic representation of the stages of
stellar evolution Main article: Star formation Protostar[edit] Main article: Protostar
Schematic of stellar evolution
Stellar evolution starts with the gravitational collapse of a giant molecular cloud. Typical giant molecular clouds are roughly 100 light-years (9.5×1014 km) across and contain up to 6,000,000 solar masses (1.2×1037 kg). As it collapses, a giant molecular cloud breaks into smaller and smaller pieces. In each of these fragments, the collapsing gas releases gravitational potential energy as heat. As its temperature and pressure increase, a fragment condenses into a rotating ball of superhot gas known as a protostar.[3] Filamentary structures are truly ubiquitous in the molecular cloud. Dense molecular filaments will fragment into gravitationally bound cores, which are the precursors of stars. Continuous accretion of gas, geometrical bending, and magnetic fields may control the detailed fragmentation manner of the filaments. In supercritical filaments, observations have revealed quasi-periodic chains of dense cores with spacing comparable to the filament inner width, and embedded two protostars with gas outflows.[4] A protostar continues to grow by accretion of gas and dust from the molecular cloud, becoming a pre-main-sequence star as it reaches its final mass. Further development is determined by its mass. Mass is typically compared to the mass of the Sun: 1.0 M☉ (2.0×1030 kg) means 1 solar mass. Protostars are encompassed in dust, and are thus more readily visible at infrared wavelengths. Observations from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have been especially important for unveiling numerous galactic protostars and their parent star clusters.[5][6] Brown dwarfs and sub-stellar objects[edit] Main article: Brown dwarf Protostars with masses less than roughly 0.08 M☉ (1.6×1029 kg) never reach temperatures high enough for nuclear fusion of hydrogen to begin. These are known as brown dwarfs. The International Astronomical Union defines brown dwarfs as stars massive enough to fuse deuterium at some point in their lives (13 Jupiter masses (MJ), 2.5 × 1028 kg, or 0.0125 M☉). Objects smaller than 13 MJ are classified as sub-brown dwarfs (but if they orbit around another stellar object they are classified as planets). [7] Both types, deuterium-burning and not, shine dimly and fade away slowly, cooling gradually over hundreds of millions of years.
