Do higher or lower mass stars live longer?

Do higher or lower mass stars live longer?

A star’s life expectancy depends on its mass. 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.

Do stars with more mass live longer?

The mass of a star defines its lifespan. The least massive stars will live the longest, while the most massive stars in the Universe will use their fuel up in a few million years and end in a spectacular supernova explosion.

Which star has a longer life low mass or large mass?

A star’s life cycle is determined by its mass. The larger its mass, the shorter its life cycle.

What mass star lives the longest?

Red Dwarfs
Red dwarf stars make up the largest population of stars in the galaxy, but they hide in the shadows, too dim to be seen with the naked eye from Earth. Their limited radiance helps to extend their lifetimes, which are far greater than that of the sun.

Why do lower mass stars live longer?

Larger stars have more fuel, but they have to burn (fuse) it faster in order to maintain equilibrium. A smaller star has less fuel, but its rate of fusion is not as fast. Therefore, smaller stars live longer than larger stars because their rate of fuel consumption is not as rapid.

What happens when a medium mass star dies?

THE DEATH OF A LOW OR MEDIUM MASS STAR After a low or medium mass or star has become a red giant the outer parts grow bigger and drift into space, forming a cloud of gas called a planetary nebula. The blue-white hot core of the star that is left behind cools and becomes a white dwarf.

Why do smaller mass stars live longer?

Massive stars live shorter lives than the common small stars because even though they have a larger amount of hydrogen for nuclear reactions, their rate of consuming their fuel is very much greater.

Do red or blue stars live longer?

Generally, the bigger a star is, the faster it uses up its supply of nuclear fuel, so the longest-lived stars are among the smallest. The stars with the longest lifetimes are red dwarfs; some may be nearly as old as the universe itself.

How are high mass stars different from low mass stars?

Like low-mass stars, high-mass stars are born in nebulae and evolve and live in the Main Sequence. However, their life cycles start to differ after the red giant phase. A massive star will undergo a supernova explosion.

How long do stars with half the mass of the Sun Live?

Stars with half the mass of the sun (called red dwarfs) can live in the main sequence for up to 100 billion years while stars which are 10 times the mass of the sun have a short… Being massive, they run out of fuel (i.e hydrogen, mainly) quicker than stars with comparatively lower mass.

Why do some stars have shorter life spans than others?

We know a lot about the Sun so we can work out the numerical value of the constant. So, more massive stars are shorter lived because while they have more mass to burn through, they burn through that mass at a much faster rate. The reasons for this a complicated, but think about pressure arguments in more massive systems.

How does the mass of a star affect its life cycle?

The larger its mass, the shorter its life cycle. A star’s mass is determined by the amount of matter that is available in its nebula, the giant cloud of gas and dust from which it was born. Over time, the hydrogen gas in the nebula is pulled together by gravity and it begins to spin.