Low Mass Star Research Paper

Words: 647
Pages: 3

There are two types of stars in the universe; high mass and low mass stars. We will discuss the latter and their life stages. The life cycle of a star is determined by the mass of the star. The smaller a star is the longer its life cycle is. In our solar system we have a low mass star, it is the Sun. Low mass stars are stars that are smaller, cooler and are slower to use their hydrogen, thus allowing this type of star to have a longer life than that of high mass star.
The life cycle starts from the collapse of an Interstellar cloud to a protostar to the Main Sequence, followed by the stages of a Red Giant, Planetary Nebula, and then the White Dwarf stage. In this paper I will go over the various phases and stages of the life cycle of a low mass star.
The low mass star is formed during a collapse of an interstellar cloud. This cloud contains molecular gas and dust. The collapse of this cloud is caused by either a passing star whose gravity pulls at the particles or something grander such as a shockwave from a supernova. The particles come together due to their individual gravity and begin to spin. Through this spinning action the particles heat up and begin to form a protester. As the protostar spins and heats and reaches a hot enough temperature to being nuclear fusion at the core. As
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This is done through the process of nuclear fusion. During this stage the star glows bright and shines for billions of years. This is the current sage in which our sun is in. As the hydrogen in the stars core begins to run out it cannot conduct nuclear fusion or produce heat. Since the star is unable to do any of those things it becomes unstable. The stability of the star is no longer there and it causes the star’s outer shell to expand. As the mass begins to expand it becomes cooler and starts to glow red. This is the start of the Red Giant stage in a low mass star’s life