THE FORMATION OF STARS

O                                                                                           ONCE the clods to collapse, the material breaks down  in to massive lumps, and as these continue to collapse, gravitational compression causes the lumps of cloud to warm up as gravitational potential energy is converted into heat. It is these lumps that will eventually from a single star, two stars or even a star with its own planetary system.                                                                       As the pressure and temperature increases in these lumps, a sphere made up of super hot gas called a proto-star[a potential star] is formed. This proto-star will continue to collapse until its core approaches close to 10 million kelvin's as that is the required temperature to undergo nuclear fusion.                                          The entire formation process of a star like our sun, might take about 50 million years. Once a star has begun the conversion of hydrogen into helium, the remainder of its life will be determined exclusively by its mass. This nuclear reaction releases heat and produces an outward pressure which supports and holds up the star against further gravitational collapse for as long as there is enough nuclear fuel to burn.                       True binary stars are two stars held together by one another's gravity, Which spend their lives whirling around together like a pair of dancers.                                                                                                           THE END OF AN ERA_______After exhausting all readily available hydrogen in its core, nuclear fusion comes to a halt and the core begins to contract due to gravity. Stars with masses between 0.5 and 8 solar masses [1 solar mass is the mass of the sun] expand to become red giants.                                                     These massive stars have a radius several hundred times the size of our sun and each will ultimately expel its outer shell. The expelled material is called a planetary nebula as it resembles a giant planet when observed through an optical telescope. This ring of expelled material telescope. This ring of expelled material will remain visible for about 10 thousand years before gradually dispersing into interstellar space. The star is now dead as it has no fuel. All that is left is a white dwarf star.                                                                                   A VIOLENT DEATH_______THE EVOLUTION OF stars with masses greater than 8 solar masses is not as pleasant but much more dramatic. As a result of their sheer size, these stars burn through their hydrogen supply at a faster rate but at the cost of a considerably shortened lifespan. once their hydrogen to helium conversion phase  is over, they expand to become red super giant                                                      These are the largest stars in existence in terms of radii. once, all its energy is spent, the red super giant collapses and explodes as a supernova, shining briefly with the light of a billion suns. Most of this material is expelled into space. All that remains is a spherical body of incredible density which will either collapse in\to a neutron star or possibly, black hole.