Star Primer All stars have a beginning and an end. But their life cycles vary. Some are short lived, while others remain bright for a long time. Some end up as white dwarfs, while other become neutron stars or black holes Stars generate energy through a process called fusion. Atoms of lighter elements combine to form atoms of heavier elements. In the most common fusion process in the universe hydrogen combines to form helium. This is what is going on in the Sun right now. In some stars, helium fuses into carbon and oxygen. These elements may then fuse into still heavier ones. There are two main factors that determine how the life of a star unfolds: The mass of the star—how much stuff there is in it. The proportion of the star that is made of metal. For astronomers, the term “metal” does not just mean iron, copper and other elements that we normally think of as metals. Any elements other than hydrogen and helium are referred to as metal. (This may sound odd, but it is just the way the term "metal" is defined for astronomers
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 06:42:39 +0000
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