Color of Stars
This
The color of a star depends on its surface
temperature. Our Sun’s surface temperature is
about 6,000 Kelvin. The light of the Sun would
actually look very white from space. This white
light coming off of the Sun is because its
temperature is 6,000 Kelvin. If the Sun were
cooler, it would give off light more on the red
end of the spectrum, and if the Sun were
hotter, it would look bluer.
The coolest stars in the Universe are the red
dwarf stars. These are stars with just a fraction
of the mass of our Sun. They don’t burn as hot
in their cores, and their surface temperature is
about 3,500 Kelvin. The light released from
their surface looks mostly red to our eyes
although there are different colors mixed up in
there too.
Sizes of Stars
Dwarf
a star of relatively small size and low
luminosity, including the majority of main
sequence stars.
Giant
is a star with substantially larger radius and
luminosity than a main-sequence star of the
same surface temperature.
Super Giant
are among the most massive and most
luminous stars.
Life Cycle of a Star
Stage 1. Nebula
The Nebula a defused, high density cloud of
predominantly hydrogen and gas that slowly
starts to collapse under the force of gravity
. Gravity causes the nebula to collapse in on
itself causing it to get smaller and smaller. As
the nebula collapses, the particles get closer
and closer together causing increased friction
and heat. This heat then causes an increase
in pressure which pushes against the
gravity slowing the collapse of the star.
pressure continues to increase as the nebula
gets smaller and the temperature rises, leading
to the next stage of a star's life cycle.
the temperature rises, leading to the next stage
Stage 2: Protostar
A protostar is formed when a region of
condensing matter begins to heat up as a
result of the force of gravity. A protostar is not
yet a star, but is a very hot cloud of densely
packed gas. The pressure in the core is not
strong enough against the pressure of gravity,
causing the protostar to get smaller and
increasingly hotter. As the core gets hotter and
hotter, nuclear fusion begins.
A nuclear fusion occurs when hydrogen atoms
combine together under great pressure and
temperatures to form helium nuclei which
releases increasing amounts of heat and
energy . This energy and heat is the power that
fuels that star.
Stage 3. Giant Stage
The next life cycle stage depends on the size
of the main sequence star. What happens to
smaller stars, like the sun, is much different
than what happens to large stars.
After billions of years as a main sequence
star, the nuclear reactions will slow and the
star will cool slightly, turn red, and grow. The
star is now a red giant.
Larger stars, which can be a thousand times
larger than our sun, becomes more gigantic,
that’s why they are called super giants.
Stage 4: Planetary Nebula or Supernova
Planetary Nebula is the next stage where a
low-mass star's life comes to an end. This
stage involves the outer layers of the star being
blown off after the star runs out of fuel to burn.
A supernova is the spectacular explosion of
a high-mass star that has come to the end of
its life when its nuclear fuel runs out. Without
the outwards pressure to balance the inwards
pressure of gravity, the outer layers collapse
onto the core causing a nuclear
explosion. The remaining of the star move on
to the next phase as a neutron star or black
hole.

Stage 5: White Dwarf, Neutron Star or Black

Hole The core is hot enough for the helium
to fuse to form carbon. The outer layers
begin to expand, cool and shine less
brightly.
After the outer layers of the star drift away
during the planetary nebula phase, only the
core remains which takes the star to the white
dwarf phase. White dwarfs are made of highly
compressed carbon and oxygen material. They
are extremely dense that their mass is
comparable to the sun's mass.

A neutron star is the incredible compact core

that remains after a supernova event. A
neutron star can weigh the same as up to two
suns.

Black holes are formed when stars of large-

mass come to the end of their lifetime in a
supernova event. Everything that remains
after a supernova event is crushed down
forming an incredibly small, dense object. The
gravity surrounding the object is so strong that
nothing can get away from it. Black holes can
grow by consuming material, stars and even
other black holes around them

Constellation
A constellation is a group of stars that forms an
imaginary outline or pattern on the Celestial
Sphere, typically representing an animal,
mythological person or creature, a god, or an
inanimate object.