Lesson 3 Flashcards
(43 cards)
Do all stars die the same way
No because it depends on their mass but all stars form the same way.
what is a cloud of dust and gas
nebula(e)
How would you describe a nebula
cold dense and dark
when gravity causes the densest part of a nebula to collapse what does it form
a region called a protostar
Protostars continue pulling in surrounding gases until
their cores hot and dense enough for nuclear fusion to begin.
When do protostars eventually become visible as stars
when the surrounding gas and dust blow away
True or false during a star’s formation does the nebula glow brightly?
true
Where do stars spend most of their life on
the main sequence
When does a star become a main sequence star
as soon as a star begins to fuse hydrogen and helium in it’s core
What is the average length of a star on the main sequence
billions of years
High mass stars are only on the main sequence for?
millions of years
When the hydrogen supply of a star starts to run low what does it do
it move off the main sequence to start the next stage of the life cycle.
Can lower mass stars become red super giants
no because they don’t have enough mass
Tue or false do stars die in different ways
true
How to massive stars die
they collapse and explode
How do lower mass stars die
a slow death
What are white dwarfs
a hot dense slowly cooling sphere of carbon
What does the core of an average star eventually become
a white dwarf
what will the sun eventually become
a white dwarf
What do scientists expect of all stars with masses less than 8-10 x that of the sun
that they will become white dwarfs
What will stars 10 x the mass of our sun do
explode
What is a supernova
an enormous explosion that destroys a star
When does a supernovae form in a massive stars ?
when iron forms in it’s core
What happens after iron forms in a star’s core
the star loses it’s internal energy source and it’s core collapses
