THE SUN & LIFE CYCLE OF STARS

- Our Sun is a star of average size and mass compared to the many other trillions of stars in
the Universe.

- Stars are born out of rotating clouds of gas called nebulae found in outer space. Nebula is
the Latin word for “cloud”. They are made up of gases. Hydrogen is the most abundant
gas in new stars and is burnt to produce the heavier gas Helium. Helium can then later be
burnt to produce Carbon. In the more massive stars, even the Carbon is then later burnt to
produce even heavier elements, all the way up to Iron.

- Nuclear fusion is the process that generates the energy that our Sun (and all stars)
produce. In nuclear fusion, the nuclei of hydrogen atoms join together to produce a single
nucleus of Helium, liberating energy and a neutron particle as a result. The “birth” of a
star occurs when nuclear fusion begins. Conversely, the “death” of a star is marked by the
end of nuclear fusion.

- Rotation & gravitation provide the energy needed for gas atoms to form stars. A star is
only a star when the outward radiation pressure (produced by nuclear fusion) is balanced
by the inward gravitational pull on the atoms towards the center. When this balance stops
(this occurs when fuel runs out and nuclear fusion stops) the star begins to die.

- The highest energy and highest temperatures are found at the center of the star, where
nuclear fusion occurs.

- Stars vary in brightness due to:

a. Chemical composition
b. Size
c. Distance

- Apparent magnitude: Brightness of a star as seen from the Earth. Scale runs backward,
the smaller the number, the brighter the star. Our Sun is about –27 on this scale.

- A star's color is a temperature indicator. Hotter stars are bluish, cooler stars are reddish,
and the ones in between are yellowish.

- Our Sun's life cycle from birth to death is as follows:

nebula → protoplanet → main sequence star → red giant → planetary nebula → white
dwarf.

For the most massive stars in the Universe, the white dwarf stage is replaced by either a
neutron star or a black hole after a Supernova explosion marks the violent death of the
star. Low-mass stars may live for trillions of years, while the massive stars may only live
10 million years.
Formation of a Star from a Nebula
Life Cycle of Stars