The Life Cycle of Solar Mass Stars Flashcards

All 5 cards in this deck

Name, in order, the stages in the life cycle of a star about the size of the Sun.

Nebula → protostar → main sequence star → red giant → white dwarf → black dwarf.

What stage follows the main sequence for a star the size of the Sun?

It expands to become a red giant.

What happens to a red giant of about the Sun's mass at the end of that stage?

It collapses (outer layers ejected) to become a white dwarf.

What is a black dwarf?

A white dwarf that has cooled down so much that it no longer emits visible light.

True or false? The Sun will end its life cycle as a supernova.

False. It is not massive enough; it will become a red giant, then a white dwarf, then a black dwarf.