The Birth and Death of a Star
Main Sequence Page

PART II

At the end of it's Main Sequence, if a Star has less than about 1.4 times that the mass of the sun, it will become a White Dwarf
[White Dwarf Pic]
Stars may also become Red Giants or, if they have roughly 2.0 times the mass of the sun, Supergiants.
[Red Giant Pic]

A Red Giant

[Supergiant Pic]

A Supergiant

When Supergiants explode, the form Supernovae.

[Supernova Pic]

When smaller Red Giants expand outward, they become Planetary Nebulae.

[Planetary Nebula Pic]

Very large stars may collapse and form very dense Neutron Stars.

(You cannot see neutron stars.)

If stars are extremely large, about 4.0 times the size of the sun, they may eventually become Black Holes.

[Black Hole Pic]
If you have not read our article on the life-cycle of stars yet, click here for some more in-depth information.
Otherwise, you may return to the lab page.