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High Mass Star

Key Stage 4

Meaning

A high mass star is a star with a mass 3 times or more greater than The Sun.

About High Mass Stars

High mass stars have a different life cycle to low mass stars and exist for a far shorter length of time than low mass stars.

Lifecycle

  1. Nebula - A huge cloud of gas and dust stretching across space which collapses due to gravity to form stars.
  2. Protostar - A glowing ball of gas and dust that is not yet hot enough for fusion to occur in its core.
  3. Main Sequence Star - The longest and most stable period of a stars life when the outward pressure caused by fusion of Hydrogen in its core is balanced by the inward pressure caused by gravity.
  4. Red Super Giant - A massive star that has run out of Hydrogen for fusion so the pressures are no longer balanced and its core collapses under gravity until the core is hot enough to fuse Helium into more massive elements. During this time the outer layers expand as the star cools but becomes brighter as it becomes the largest type of star in the universe.
  5. Supernova - When a massive star runs out of Helium to fuse the core collapses rapidly. Eventually the elements collide with one another and rebound outwards into an explosion known as a Supernova which can be brighter than all the other stars in a galaxy put together.