STAR FORMATION

Stars form in huge clouds of gas and dust in space called nebulae. Stars begin their
lives as nebulae, when that nebula shrinks under the inward pull of its own gravity,
forming an embryonic star known as a "protostar. Eventually the density and the
temperature of the protostars center become high enough for nuclear reaction to begin.
So when the star has a temperature of 100 million degrees, the object switches on to
become a true star, generating its own heat and light. The star is then said to be on the
main sequence. Our sun is a main sequence star. It will spend most of its life at this
phase.
Actually, the lifespan of the star depends on its size. Large massive star will have a
short main sequence stage while less massive star will remain in main sequence much
longer. This means that the larger a star, the shorter its life. Massive stars can last
millions of years while small stars/less massive stars can last billion of years. Our sun is
an average star and has a lifespan of approximately 10 billion of years. Today, our sun is
4.6 billion years old. That means that our sun have almost 5 billion years through its life
cycle.
The reason why massive stars have a shorter life than small stars it is because
massive stars burn their fuel much faster than small stars and the pressure of nuclear
reaction in massive star is faster. Nuclear reaction inside converts hydrogen into helium
by means of a process known as fusion. It is nuclear reaction gives a star its energy.
When the supply of hydrogen is used up, it begins to convert helium into oxygen and
carbon until iron is formed. When the core becomes primarily iron, the stars nuclear
reaction can no longer continue. The increasingly hot core also pushes the outer layers of
the star outward causing them to expand and cool, transforming the star into Red Giant
for small stars and Red Supergiant for the massive star. This phase will last until the stars

Marian Mae G. Santos

3/BSE/PHYSC

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exhausts its remaining fuel. At this point the pressure of nuclear reaction is not strong
enough to equalize the force of gravity and the star will collapse.
Most average star will blow away their outer atmosphere to form a planetary
nebula. Their core will remain behind and burn as a white dwarf until they cool down.
What will be left is the black ball of matter known as black dwarf.
If the star is massive enough, the collapse will trigger a violent explosion known as
supernova. If the remaining mass of a star is about 1.4 times the mass of our sun, the
core is unable to support itself and it will collapse further to become a neutron star. And
if the remaining mass of a star is more than the mass of our sun its own gravity will
squashed it further into a black hole.

Marian Mae G. Santos

3/BSE/PHYSC

Page 2