Science Study Guide: Life Cycle of Stars

Flashcards covering the vocabulary of star life cycles, nuclear fusion, HR diagrams, solar layers, and solar phenomena.

Nebula

A large cloud of gas and dust in space.

Protostar

The earliest stages of a star's life.

Main Sequence Star

A main sequence star steadily burns hydrogen in its core (like our Sun).

Red Super Giant

When a main sequence star runs out of hydrogen and nuclear fusion slows down ALOT.

Supernova

What occurs when a red super giant explodes.

Neutron Star

The remains of a high mass star.

Neutron Star

A super dense core left behind after a massive star explodes in a supernova.

Black Hole

Exerts such a strong gravitational pull that NO light escapes.

Planetary Nebula

A glowing shell of gas ejected by a dying star like the Sun near the end of its life.

White Dwarf

A star left at the core of a planetary nebula.

Black Dwarf

What a medium star becomes @ the end of its life.

Nuclear Fusion

When two light atomic nuclei come together and make ONE bigger one, and while this is happening it explodes and makes a lot of energy.

HR Diagram

A scatter plot of stars, so a graph. It compares Temperature (X AXIS) and Luminosity (Y AXIS).

Core

Where Nuclear Fusion occurs in the sun.

Radiative Zone

Energy moves by Radiation in the sun.

Convection Zone

Where energy moves thanks to convection in the sun.

Photosphere

The sun we see.

Chromosphere

Hotter than the Photosphere, and a thin red layer.

Corona

Super hot and only visible during eclipses.

Solar Flares

Sudden, huge bursts of energy from the Sun that release alot of heat and light.

Solar Prominences

Big loops of hot gas that shoot out from the Sun’s surface.

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs)

Big clouds of gas and magnetic energy blasted from the Sun.