Life cycle of a star
The mass of a stellar object will determine its evolution
3 Massive Star
Stars that have accumulated mass of at least eight-times that of our Sun will live their lives as a massive star for roughly tens of millions of years.
5 Supernova
When the star becomes unstable it will inevitably explode in a spectacular fashion. This will cast its outer layers into the cosmos as a supernova.
6 Black hole
If the star was more than eight-times the mass of the Sun, a black hole is likely to reside after the supernova.
1 Nebula
The start of any star’s life begins as a cloud of gas and dust, before gravity gets hold of it.
4 Red supergiant star When its hydrogen begins to deplete the outer layers of the star will puff out due to an imbalance in the radiation and gravitational equilibrium.
7 Neutron star/pulsar
If the star was between four- and eight-times the mass of the Sun a neutron star will be left over from the supernova.
8 Small star
A relatively small star is around the same mass of the Sun and will have a life span of about 10 billion years.
9 Red giant star
A similar puffing effect will occur to a Sun-like star in which the outer layers will expand by millions of kilometres.
2 Protostar
Sections of the gas and dust begin to clump, and gravity and momentum of spin will begin star formation in the form of a protostar.
10 Planetary nebula
Once the fuel is finally depleted the outer layers will be expelled. Not as extravagantly as a supernova, but as a planetary nebula.
11 White dwarf
In the centre of the planetary nebula is a white dwarf, the remains of a star that has used all its hydrogen.