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What are the 2 ways a massive star can end?
When a star goes supernova, its core implodes, and can either become a neutron star or a black hole, depending on mass. But just last year, for the first time, astronomers observed a 25 solar mass star just disappear.
What type of stars end their lives in a supernova event?
Stars that are at least eight times as massive as our Sun are likely to end their life cycles as supernovae, but the most massive stars might not form supernovae at all. The conventional wisdom about the life cycles of stars runs something like this: Smaller stars burn smoothly for billions of years.
What happens to the core of a massive star after it explodes?
The core of a massive star that has more than roughly 3 times the mass of our Sun after the explosion will do something quite different. The force of gravity overcomes the nuclear forces which keep protons and neutrons from combining.
What happens to a massive star after it goes supernova?
A massive star will undergo a supernova explosion. If the remnant of the explosion is 1.4 to about 3 times as massive as our Sun, it will become a neutron star. The core of a massive star that has more than roughly 3 times the mass of our Sun after the explosion will do something quite different.
Are the most massive stars destined for cataclysmic events?
Unlike the Sun-like stars that gently blow off their outer layers in a planetary nebula and contract down to a (carbon-and-oxygen-rich) white dwarf, or the red dwarfs that never reach helium-burning and simply contract down to a (helium-based) white dwarf, the most massive stars are destined for a cataclysmic event.
What happens when a star reaches the red giant phase?
Once a medium size star (such as our Sun) has reached the red giant phase, its outer layers continue to expand, the core contracts inward, and helium atoms in the core fuse together to form carbon. This fusion releases energy and the star gets a temporary reprieve.