CHAPTER - 2

STELLAR EVOLUTION
STELLAR EVOLUTION : -
Stellar evolution is the process by which a star changes over the course of time.
Depending upon the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years
for the most massive to trillions of years for the least massive, which is considerably
longer than the current age of the universe.
CLASSIFICATION OF STARS : -
• Stars have different colours that depends on its surface temperature.
• Stars have different sizes that depends on its mass.
• Stars have different brightness that depends on:
• i - the distance the star is from earth.
• ii – the luminosity of the star. (energy transferred from the per
second).
CLASSIFICATION OF STARS
ACCORDING TO THEIR COLOUR : -
• Based on colour and surface temperature stars are classified into
seven different main group. These groups of stars are O, B, A, F, G, K,
M.
• O & B are the hottest stars and K & M the coolest.
• Temperature of remaining groups of stars lies in between.
• Warm objects emit infrared and extremely hot objects emit visible
light as well
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 BIG BANG: -

Whole universe before Big Bang

Big Bang
LIFE CYCLE OF STARS : -
•A
ASSESSMENT:
• Write about the evolution of sun.
LIFE CYCLE OF STARS SIMILAR TO
SOLAR MASS ( MASS OF SUN) : -
NEBULA : - Huge cloud of hydrogen gas and dust is known as nebula.
PROTOSTAR : - The force of gravity within a nebula pulls the
particles closer together until it forms a hot ball of gas, known as
a protostar.
As the particles are pulled closer together the density of the protostar
will increase. This will result in more frequent collisions between the
particles which causes the temperature to increase, and protostar
becomes hot.
MAIN SEQUENCE OF STAR: -

• As soon as temperature of protostar reaches to required temperature

for fusion , nuclear fusion reactions occur within core of protostar
and energy radiates out in the form of heat and light.
• Thermal expansion from fusion reactions occur within its core due to
fusion and the force of gravity keeps the star in equilibrium.
• At this point, the star is born, and it becomes a main-sequence star
• During the main sequence, the star is in equilibrium and said to
be stable.
• The inward force due to gravity is equal to the outward pressure
force which results from the expanding hot gases inside the star.
 RED GIANT : -

• After several billion years the hydrogen causing the fusion reactions in the star will
begin to run out. Once this happens, the fusion reactions in the core will start to
die down.
• This causes the core to shrink and heat up.
• The core will shrink because the inward force due to gravity will become greater
than the outward force due to the pressure dies down.
• A new series of reactions will then occur around the core, for example, helium
nuclei will undergo fusion to form beryllium.
• As the core shrinks, more reactions will cause the outer part of the star to expand.
• It will become a red giant
• It is red because the outer surface starts to cool.
WHITE DWARF : -

• The star will eventually become unstable and eject the outer layer of
dust and gas.
• The core which is left behind will collapse completely, due to the pull
of gravity, and the star will become a white dwarf.
• BALACK DWARF : -
• The white dwarf will be cooling down and as a result, the amount of
energy it emits will decrease and finally white dwarf will remain as
black dwarf.
THE LIFE CYCLE OF LARGER STARS : -
• A large star is one that is much larger than the Sun.
• Stars that are larger than the Sun have much shorter lifespans – in the
region of hundreds of millions of years (instead of billions).
• The life cycle of a star larger than the Sun starts in the same way as a
solar mass star
• 1. Nebula
• 2. Protostar
• 3. Main Sequence Star
4. RED SUPERGIANT : -
• Eventually, the main sequence star will reach a stage when it starts
to run out of hydrogen gas in its core.
• Once this happens, the fusion reactions in the core will start to die down.
• This causes the core to shrink and heat up:
• The core will shrink because the inward force due to gravity is greater than
the outward force due to the pressure of the expanding gases.
• A new series of fusion reactions will then occur around the core, for
example, helium nuclei will undergo fusion to form beryllium.
• These fusion reactions will cause the outer part of the star
to expand, and it will become a super red giant.
• A super red giant is much larger than a red giant.
5. SUPERNOVA : -
Once the fusion reactions inside the red supergiant finally finish, the core of
the star will collapse suddenly causing a gigantic explosion. This is called
a supernova.
• At the centre of this explosion a dense body, (called a neutron star) will
form and the outer remnants of the star will be ejected into space during a
supernova.
• 6. NEUTRON STAR (or Black Hole) : -
• At the centre of this explosion a dense body, called a neutron star will form
• In the case of the largest stars, the neutron star that forms at the centre will
continue to collapse under the force of gravity until it forms a black hole.
• 7. BLACK HOLE : - A black hole is an extremely dense point in
space that not even light can escape from.
Assessment:
List difference:
i. between white dwarf & black dwarf.
ii. Explain difference between life cycle of solar mass star and larger
mass stars.
iii. What is stable state of stars.
iv. Write the group of stars based on their colour.
v. Which colour represent hottest star.
THE BRIGHTNESS OF A STAR: -
• The brightness of a star depends on :
• 1. the distance the star is from the earth.
• 2. what the star is made from and the kinds of nuclear reactions that
are taking place.
• As a result, there are three different ways in which astronomers
describe the brightness of a star:
• 1. AAPARENT BRIGHTNESS- A measure of how bright a star is seen
from the earth. (Does not consider that star is closer or away from
the earth.)
2. ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS : -
• A measure of how bright stars would appear if they were all placed
the same distance (standard distance) away from the earth.
• Standard distance = 32.6 light years or 10 parsecs.
• LIGHT YEAR :- A light-year is a distance covered by light in a duration
of one year.
• 1 light year = 9.46 x 10*15 meters.
• one parsec is 3.26 light years.
• Note – Light year & Parsec both are unit of distance.
3. LUMINOSITY OF A STAR : -
• A measure of how much energy in the form of light is emitted from a
stat’s surface every second.
Hertzsprung-Russell
Diagrams
The main features of the Hertzsprung-Russell
diagram are:
Most stars lie on the Main Sequence. This is the
band of stars going from top left to bottom right.
Below the main sequence (and slightly to the left)
are the White Dwarfs.
Above the main sequence on the right-hand side
are the Red Giants.
Above those are the Red Supergiant's.
This means the white dwarfs are dimmer and
hotter than the red giants which are brighter and
cooler
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