White Dwarf | Red Giant | Planetary Nebulae | Supernova | Black Hole

What happens at the end of a star's life depends upon its mass. For a star the size of our Sun, continued helium burning & thermonuclear reactions within it will exert so much pressure on the outer layers that the star will swell gigantically and a “Red Giant” star will form. Our Sun will expand approximately 100 million miles swallowing Mercury and Venus. Earth might just escape but will become inhospitable.

When the helium is all burned away the core will shrink and the star will eject its outer gas layers which expand into space, forming a ring or bubble-shaped “planetary nebula”. What is left is a “White Dwarf” star when the core shrinks to the size of a planet.

Find out what happens following the dramatic death of a more massive star of 1.4 to 2.5 solar masses (SM) and a star of weight so great (say 2.5 to 50 SM) that nothing can hold back the gravitational force as it contracts!