De Jesus, Mary Anne O.

August 23, 2010

EL1 Descriptive: Process

Outline: Life Cycle of a Star

I. Introduction

A. Background of stars existing billions of years ago

B. My stock knowledge regarding stars and some thought-provoking questions

C. Thesis statement – So like any other life forms, a star has its own life cycle which

occurs in several stages.

II. Stage One: Birth in nebula

A. Short background about a nebula

B. 18 million degrees Fahrenheit temperature

C. A star is born [specifically enormous stars]

III. Stage Two: Stars in its teenage years

A. A shining star

B. Expansion to a red giant and a brief info about it

C. Expansion to a supergiant and a brief into about it

IV. Stage Three: Stars in its old age

A. Shrinking to a dwarf

B. Supernova

C. Brief info about a supernova

V. Stage Four: Finale: The destructive death of a star

A. Collapsing to a neutron star

B. Brief info about a neutron star

 C. Black hole: The final form of a dead star

VI. Conclusion

A. Wrapped up life cycle of a star

B. Assurance of rare births of black holes in our galaxy, Milky Way

R – A Science teacher/astronomer

A – Students who are fascinated with astronomy

P – To inform my audience of how a star is born and how it dies

De Jesus, Mary Anne O. August 23, 2010

EL1 Descriptive: Process

Life Cycle of a Star

For eons, stars have been giving life and light to the universe. They have been born a few

minutes after the Big Bang occurred 14 billion years ago. They have been a good tool for ancient

people during the early centuries. Although, a common misconception regarding the structure of

a star is it has five points, just like the common symbols for stars. But in fact, it is a massive ball

of hot gas burning brightly to give light to the dark universe. However, a question remains. How

are the stars formed? Does it undergo the same stages as most earth creatures undergo? “Stars are

born…age…evolve…and eventually die. Just like people. They have a regular life cycle.” It was

stated by Astronomer Michael Schara to compare the human life cycle to a star’s. So like any

another life forms, a star has its own life cycle which occurs in several stages.

Birth in the nebula marks the first stage of the life cycle of a star. A nebula is a cloud-like

region in the universe which is composed of gas [hydrogen] and dust. It serves as the “womb”

for growing stars. Gravity gathers hydrogen and particles of dust into a cloud until it grows

denser. Gravity squeezes the material until hydrogen heats up into a raging 18 million degrees

Fahrenheit. With nuclear fusion, hydrogen is converted to helium and the fire ignites. Finally, a

star is born. But that doesn’t end there. The star varies in sizes depending on the effect of gravity

on it and massiveness of the particles packed by gravity. Enormous stars [twice the size of the

sun] are the ones being discussed.

The star, like a human has also its teenage stage. This is the stage where it gives life and

beauty to the universe. The sun is considered as a star and look at the benefits one can get from
it. The star continues to burn and shine for about billion years until finally it uses up all its

hydrogen. As it runs out of hydrogen gas, it expands to a larger star called the Red giant. A red

giant is star which has little amount of hydrogen to burn, causing its outer layer to expand.

However, the outer layer is relatively cool and that is why it burns with a red color. Since the star

is enormous, it goes to a second expansion called the supergiant. This is caused by the fusion of

the helium atoms to form carbon atoms. This nuclear reaction causes the red giant to expand to a

supergiant.

The star reaches its old age. Some stars fade away quietly. These are usually smaller in

terms of structure and are usually indicated by their signature color which is blue. The rest either

shrink to a dwarf or a neutron star. This shrinkage is caused by an explosion due to hydrogen

deprivation and gravity once again packs the remains of the star’s core. Smaller stars collapse

into white/black dwarves. White dwarves are dying stars. They can be as big as the earth, but

they contain at least 70% of the mass of the sun. Enormous stars undergo a massive explosion

called the Supernova. It is a violent explosion caused by the total depletion of its fuel, collapsing

due to gravity and finally explosion. Supernovas are very rare occurrences and there have been

documents about only five supernova occurrences in the Milky Way galaxy for the last 1,000

years. Nevertheless, this phenomenon is very dangerous for it leads to the creation of neutron

stars.

Lastly, this is the stage where the star meets its demise. Enormous stars that underwent

supernovas collapse into a neutron star. A neutron star is far denser than the dwarves and is

composed primarily of neutrons, small, neutrally-charged particles in the nucleus of an atom. It

is created when the core of a supergiant star has converted all of its elements to iron. This

reaction triggers the liberation of energy and so the core collapses in its own mutual gravitational
attraction. A teaspoonful of a neutron’s star stardust weighs more than a crude ship packed with

people. In some cases right after a supernova, gravity packs a dead star’s residue and forms into

an invisible matter, with a size that stretches for miles and a weight of inexplicable amount.

Imagine a hidden massive matter that sucks everything in its range wherein even light can never

escape. That is the power and danger of a black hole, the final form of a dead star.

A star is just like a human, having its own life cycle. It starts off as a cloud of dust and

hydrogen and ignites to a fully grown star as it reaches the required temperature. In a billion

years, it uses up its hydrogen, expands to a larger star and collapses into a solid core. Others fade

quietly but some explodes into a multitude of elements and finally turn into a weapon of mass

destruction. But not to worry, supernovas are truly rare especially in the Milky Way galaxy that

fathers a myriad of stars within its vicinity. The galaxy may experience at least one supernova in

a century.