U10a2 Life Cycle of the Stars Paper - Essay Example

Astronomers can determine the mass, age, chemical composition and many other properties of a star by observing its spectrum, luminosity and motion through space. The total mass of a star is the principal determinant in its evolution and eventual fate. Other characteristics of a star are determined by its evolutionary history, including diameter, rotation, movement and temperature. A plot of the temperature of many stars against their luminosities, known as a Hertzprung-Russell diagrams (H–R diagram), allows the age and evolutionary state of a star to be determined.

Stellar evolution is the process by which a star undergoes a sequence of radical changes during its lifetime. Depending on the mass of the star, this lifetime ranges from only a few million years (for the most massive) to trillions of years (for the least massive, which is considerably more than the age of the universe). 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 the various points in their life, and by simulating stellar structure with computer models.

Stellar Evolution: A nebula is a cloud of gas (hydrogen) and dust in space. Nebulae are the birthplaces of stars. There are different types of nebula. An Emission Nebula which glows brightly because the gas in it is energized by the stars that have already formed within it. In a Reflection Nebula, starlight reflects on the grains of dust in a nebula. The nebula surrounding the Pleiades Cluster is typical of a reflection nebula. Dark Nebula also exists. These are dense clouds of molecular hydrogen which partially or completely absorb the light from stars behind them.

1st stage of a stars life: PROTOSTAR Stellar evolution begins with the gravitational collapse of a giant molecular cloud (GMC). As it collapses, a GMC 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 sphere of superhot gas known as a prostar. 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. For a more massive prostar, the core temperature will eventually reach 10 million kelvins, initiating the proton-proton chain reaction and allowing hydrogen to fuse, first to deuterium and then to helium. The onset of nuclear fusion leads relatively quickly to a hydrostatic equilibrium in which energy released by the core exerts a "radiation pressure" balancing the weight of the star's matter, preventing further gravitational collapse. The star thus evolves rapidly to a stable state, beginning the main sequence phase of its evolution.

A new star will fall at a specific point on the main sequence of the Hertzprung-Russell diagrams, with the main sequence spectral type depending upon the mass of the star. Small, relatively cold, low mass red dwarfs burn hydrogen slowly and will remain on the main sequence for hundreds of billions of years, while massive, hot super giants will leave the main sequence after just a few million years. A mid-sized star like the Sun will remain on the main sequence for about 10 billion years. . A star of less than about 0.

5 solar mass will