Determining a small and large star.
A star is described as "small" or "large" through measurement based off the suns mass (one solar mass), if the star is less than 1.4 solar masses then it is described as a "small" star, any bigger and is a "larger" star, keeping in mind it takes roughly 0.8 solar masses for a star to form at all. There are 6 stages of evolution or change throughout the life of a small star explained below.
Life cycle of a small star
Stable stars such as the sun go through changes and stages as it ages thought its life.
Stage 2: ProtostarsA Protostar develops from the collapse of a nebula, once the protostar contains enough matter the core temperature can reach upwards of 15 million degrees centigrade. Once this temperature is sustained at the core, nuclear reactions can form and fuse hydrogen which creating helium, heat and light, (this process is called nuclear fusion).
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stage 4:
A star remains in the main sequence until all hydrogen has fused into helium, for a star 1.0 solar masses or less this can take roughly 10 billion years for the process to complete.
Stage 5: Red giantAfter all hydrogen has depleted from the stars core nuclear reactions cease, radiation pressure stop and causes the re-ignition of gravitational collapse, causing the star to densify and heat further. This process remains until sufficient temperatures cause Helium to fuse into carbon. The stars outer layers will then expand cool, and dim turning read, This is the Red Dwarf stage.
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