The temperature of stars

As a guide to their ‘life story’

http://www.le.ac.uk/ph/faulkes/web/stars/r_st_evolution.html

Plot luminosity against temperature…

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

Gas cloud to protostar

Main Sequence

Our Sun

Hydrogen runs out, swells to be come red giant

Elements in a red

giant

http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/q2958.html

Comparison of sizes

http://www.profiledesigninc.com/OMOS-SO-Matrix-Reach4theStars-HR.html

Outer layers are shed leaving the core

Planetary Nebulae

http://www.astro.washington.edu/users/balick/WFPC2/plneb.jpeg

A cool, dim dwarf star…

Size of a white dwarf

http://www.astro.washington.edu/users/balick/WFPC2/plneb.jpeg

And then….

(Depending on the size….

Supernova

http://mephistope.homelinux.org/docu/0000/img/supernova/

Less than 25 times

bigger than our Sun

..then a neutron star

http://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/NatSci102/NatSci102/images/neu_star.jpg

http://usersguidetotheuniverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/xray_neutronstar.jpg

Or if more than 25 times bigger then our Sun…

http://keckobservatory.org/images/files/magazine/dec07_1_10.gif