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Why do stars expand as they get older?
The fuel changes and even the color of the light emitted is different. The main reason why they expand as they age is because a star is always getting hotter and hotter as the helium ash from hydrogen fusion slowly builds up at the core and is compressed under its own weight.
Why do stars get bigger?
As the core heats up, it holds off gravity for a while longer. This allows the star to start fusing Helium into Carbon and Oxygen. This build up of heat expands the outer layers of the star and they expand outward, causing a star like our sun to become a Red Giant.
Why do bigger stars die first?
Generally, the more massive the star, the faster it burns up its fuel supply, and the shorter its life. The most massive stars can burn out and explode in a supernova after only a few million years of fusion.
Why do stars explode when they die?
It’s a balance of gravity pushing in on the star and heat and pressure pushing outward from the star’s core. When a massive star runs out of fuel, it cools off. This causes the pressure to drop. The collapse happens so quickly that it creates enormous shock waves that cause the outer part of the star to explode!
Can stars turn into planets?
yes! A star can turn into a planet, but this is true only for a specific category of stars called brown dwarfs.
Why do stars expand as they age?
The main reason why they expand as they age is because a star is always getting hotter and hotter as the helium ash from hydrogen fusion slowly builds up at the core and is compressed under its own weight. To give you a brief understanding of why stars expands they age we need to go back to the start of the life of a star.
What happens to the core of a star that dies?
Helium continues to build up, and even this extra shell around the core isn’t hot and dense enough to support fusion. So the core dies again. The star begins to contract, the gravitational energy heats up again, allowing another shell of hydrogen to have the pressure and temperature for fusion, and then we’re back in business!
What happens to stars when they run out of fuel?
Stars Like the Sun. When the core runs out of hydrogen fuel, it will contract under the weight of gravity. However, some hydrogen fusion will occur in the upper layers. As the core contracts, it heats up.
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.