It's interesting that the life and death of a star is determined by the stars mass. Massive stars, such as O-type stars, tend to live relatively short lives (in astronomical terms). Massive stars such as these live only a few hundred millions years until they die in a supernova explosion. Why is this? Why is it that massive stars live short lives? Because the star is so massive it has a very high temperature and tends to burn its nuclear fuel at a fairly fast rate. The hydrogen within the star is fused into helium at a much faster rate in higher mass stars than lower mass stars. Lower mass stars, such as our sun, can continue to burn nuclear fuel in their cores for billions of years, and even lower mass stars, such as M stars, can live for trillions of years until they burn all their nuclear fuel. These stars not only live differently, but will also die differently. Massive stars will die in massive supernova explosions and will form either a neutron star, a pulsar, or a black hole depending on its mass. Lower mass stars will die a much quieter death. Rather than bursting apart, lower mass stars will simply expand and eventually fade away, forming a planetary nebulae with a white dwarf at its centre. #astronomy #astronomer #astrophysics #space #cosmos #science #physics #universe #stars #planet #astronaut #constellation #interstellar #spacetravel #outerspace #instaspace #instalike #instafollow #astrobiology #Nasa #Hubble #telescope #galaxy #stargazing #starstuff #astrophysics_ - December 28, 2015 at 11:57AM Source: https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xfp1/t51.2885-15/e35/1971608_1529305717396127_1387301541_n.jpg

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