io. an
Name
Chapter 26 Expl oring the he Class
Niverse
mass stars have greatey ;
ressure. As €r intern,
brightly and ee they ae pie and
They do not last oe More quick]
medium-mass stars ae as Novt-lge oy
may last only a few mie Stars
contrast, low-mass st illion years, In
eeeition years. ars May last over
ven low-m
forever. Eventual ly a. do not last
is used up, and Ee yarogen in the core
produced by fusion Baa no longer be
outward energy of fast Out the
inward force of gravit a to counter the
This causes temp a e star shrinks.
rise inside the star. ot Pressure to
but now in a shell outside ‘i gins again,
Energy flows outward from ae
Pauses th e shell and
e star to expand. The star’
atmosphere also expands. It a
from the h . moves away)
ot core and cools. The star
becomes a red giant or a red supergiant
, Low-mass and medium-mass stars
ee giants. A red giant eventually |
s off much of its mass. It becomes
surrounded by a glowing cloud of gas
called a planetary nebula. All that
remains of the star itself is its hot, dense
core. This core is called a white dwarf.
High-mass stars become red’
supergiants. A red supergiant rapidly
uses up fuel, so fusion slows and
outward thermal pressure drops. Gravity
causes the star’s outer layers to collapse
inward. This collapse produces a giant
explosion, called a supernova. The dense
core that remains after the explosion is
called a neutron star. A neutron star is
much smaller and denser than a white
dwarf. Very massive stars may collapse
beyond the neutron star stage and form
plack holes. A black hole is an object with
such strong gravity that light cannot
escape from it.
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