Life Cycle of Stars

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that stars have a life cycle that is simply too long for human life to perceive directly and even too long for all of human history to record. The author points out that astronomers have been able to categorize stars to show the different levels of development reached by different groups of stars. The paper relates that, over billions of years, the star slowly contracts, compensating for the heat and light energy it has lost. The author underscores that, as this contraction continues, the temperature, density and pressure at the core of the star increases. The paper tells that, as the temperature at the core rises and the star contracts, the tension between gravity pulling in and gas pressure pushing out determines the life of the star. The author describes this process through the star's life cycle from protostar to black holes.

From the Paper:

"At this stage, the star is called a planetary nebula. The core of this star becomes a whiter dwarf, an extremely dense star now the size of a planet. Once the white dwarf uses all its energy, it stops shining and becomes a "black dwarf," or a dead star. Astronomers see this as the final stage for our own Sun. however, for stars with higher masses than the Sun (up to about 40 times greater), the outer layers of the star may be thrown off with much more force in a supernova, an explosion leading to the collapse of the star down to a very compact size, producing what is known as a "neutron star."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Curtains part on ancient star nurseries (1998, July 15). ScienceNOW, 3.
• The life cycle of the stars (2005). Retrieved May 16, 2007 from http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/sun/Solar_interior/Nuclear_Reactions/Fusion/Fusion_in_stars/star_life.html.
• Olson, S. (1999, May). Black Hole Hunters. Astronomy, 48-55.
• The stars (2007). Zoom Astronomy. Retrieved May 16, 2007 from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/stars/lifecycle/.

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