Star History

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The life cycle of a star is dependent on its mass. The larger the mass, the quicker it will die out, whereas stars which are no more than half the size of our Sun can live up to hundreds of billion years. However no matter how large the star is, they all begin their lives in a nursery known as a molecular cloud. A molecular cloud is a giant condensation of dust and molecular gas. They are regions of relatively dense interstellar gas and dust with hydrogen molecules as well as carbon and silicate materials forming the primary constituents. Helium and small amounts of heavier elements are also found within the cloud. Molecular clouds are very cold and dark regions with typical temperatures of between 10 and 50 Kelvin. The mass of a typical molecular cloud ranges from 100-1,000 solar masses. However there are larger clouds known as giant molecular clouds which have a mass ranging from 1,000 to 1 million solar masses. They range in diameters from 20 to 200 parsecs (1pc ~ 3.26ly), making them “the largest gravitationally bound objects in the Galaxy, and the largest known objects in the Universe made of molecular material”, according to Astrophysicist Paul Ruffle of Manchester University. It is believed all stars are born within these regions of the interstellar medium and observations have shown that they are located primarily within the disk of spiral galaxies and the active regions of the irregular galaxies. Since molecular clouds are cold, dark and dusty, we cannot observe them directly in visible light. However larger wavelengths such as infrared and submillimeter (wavelengths within the range of 0.3-1mm) techniques can pass through the clouds unaffected which can make observations of a star forming. The peak temperatures obs... ... middle of paper ... ...xplode. These occur when the core has gained so much mass that it cannot withstand its own weight. What happens after this depends on the size of the core. If the mass of the star is between 1.44 and 3 solar masses then it will end up as a neutron star. These are extremely dense objects where the core of the star collapses under gravity. The gravity is so strong that the electrons and protons form to combine neutrons. On the other hand, if the mass of the star is greater than 3 solar masses than the degeneracy pressure is not enough to oppose its gravitational force, causing it to collapse in on itself. The gravity of a black hole is so strong that not even light can escape its pull. This is because all the matter which was present in the star has been compressed into a tiny area. It is believed that there is a supermassive black hole in the centre of each galaxy.

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