Life cycle of a star

Nebula

Cloud of gas and dust where stars are born

Protostar

Gravity pulls gases and dust together and nuclear fusion starts

Main sequence star

Hydrogen is fusing into Helium. The longest stage in a star's life.

Red giant

The stage in a low mass star's life, after the star has used up all it's hydrogen, it starts to cool and expand in an effort to start fusing helium atoms. Helium is fusing into Carbon.

Red super giant

The stage in a high mass star, it is very similar to the red giant but it expands faster, lasts longer, and gets bigger than the red giant. Helium is fusing into Carbon.

White dwarf

The stage in a low mass stars life, the remains of the red giant is a glowing ball of gas about the size of earth. Nuclear fusion has stopped and the gas begins to cool.

Black dwarf

The stage of a low mass star, the gases have stopped glowing and all that remains is a dark piece of space rock, our sun will end its life like this.

Supernova

The stage in a high mass star's life, after the red super giant expands it collapses in its self so rapidly that when it is done it explodes outwards.

Black hole

Exerts such a gravitational pull that no light can escape. Result of the highest mass stars.

Neutron star

This is a star so dense that one table spoon would weigh as mush as 10 suns! Called a Pulsar if it spins.

Life cycle of an average sized star.

nebula, protostar, main sequence star, red giant, planetary nebula, white dwarf, black dwarf

Life cycle of a massive sized star.

nebula, protostar, main sequence star, red super giant, supernova, black hole or neutron star