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Stellar Evolution

Stars form from collapsing clouds of gas and dust over millions of years. Stars are classified based on their temperature, with hotter stars being bluer and cooler stars being redder. A star's life cycle depends on its size - smaller stars like our Sun will become red giants then white dwarfs, while larger stars may explode as supernovae and form neutron stars or black holes.

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Mayar Azzam
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180 views

Stellar Evolution

Stars form from collapsing clouds of gas and dust over millions of years. Stars are classified based on their temperature, with hotter stars being bluer and cooler stars being redder. A star's life cycle depends on its size - smaller stars like our Sun will become red giants then white dwarfs, while larger stars may explode as supernovae and form neutron stars or black holes.

Uploaded by

Mayar Azzam
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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STELLAR EVOLUTION

What is universe?
The sum total of all matter and energy; that is, everything within and between all
galaxies
What is Galaxy ?
A great island of stars in space, all held together by gravity and orbiting a common
center.
What is a star?
A large, glowing ball of gas that generates heat and light through nuclear fusion
UNIVERSE IS A LARGE COLLECTION OF BILLIONS OF GALAXIES
GALAXIES ARE A LARGE COLLECTION OF BILLIONS OF STARS
SOLAR SYSTEM IS IN THE MILKY WAY GALAXY
How are stars formed???

Stars form from an accumulation of gas and dust, which collapses due to
gravity and starts to form stars. The process of star formation takes around a
million years from the time the initial gas cloud starts to collapse until the star
is created and shines like the Sun. The leftover material from the star's birth is
used to create planets and other objects that orbit the central star. Observing
star formation is difficult, because the dust is not transparent to visible light. It
is, however, possible to observe these dark stellar nurseries using radio
waves, because radio waves travel freely down to us and our radio
telescopes.

Classification of star
Stars are classified by the elements that they absorb and their
temperature. There are seven main types of stars. In order of
decreasing temperature, O, B, A, F, G, K, and M.
Classification based on color and temperature
Stars can be classified according to their colour. The colour of a star is
related to its surface temperature, with hotter stars being bluer and
cooler stars being redder. The brightness of a star at a standard
distance can be represented using absolute magnitude. A star’s
absolute magnitude is defined to be equal to the apparent magnitude
that the star would have if it were viewed from exactly 10 parsecs (32.6
light-years) away. A Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HR diagram) shows
the relationship between a star’s surface temperature and brightness.

Life cycle of a star


All stars begin life in the same way. A cloud of dust and gas, also known as a nebula,
becomes a protostar, which goes on to become a main sequence star. Following this,
stars develop in different ways depending on their size.

Stars that are a similar size to the Sun follow the left hand path:

red giant star white dwarf black dwarf

Stars that are far greater in mass than the Sun follow the right hand path:

red super giant star supernova neutron star, or a black hole (depending on size)
A nebula: a star forms from massive clouds of dust and gas in space, also known as a
nebula. Nebulae are mostly composed of hydrogen.

Protostar
As the mass falls together it gets hot. A star is formed when it is hot enough for the
hydrogen nuclei to fuse together to make helium. The fusion process releases energy,
which keeps the core of the star hot.

Main sequence star


During this stable phase in the life of a star, the force of gravity holding the star together
is balanced by higher pressure due to the high temperatures. The Sun is at this stable
phase in its life.

Red giant star


When all the hydrogen has been used up in the fusion process, larger nuclei begin to form and
the star may expand to become a red giant.

White dwarf
When all the nuclear reactions are over, a small star like the Sun may begin to contract
under the pull of gravity. In this instance, the star becomes a white dwarf which fades
and changes colour as it cools.

Supernova
A larger star with more mass will go on making nuclear reactions, getting hotter and
expanding until it explodes as a supernova.

Neutron star or black hole


Depending on the mass at the start of its life, a supernova will leave behind either a
neutron star or a black hole.

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