Lives of Stars Lifecycle of a Star A nebula – large cloud of gas and dust – is found in space The nebula begins to contract and becomes dense and hot that nuclear fusion creates a protostar – a new star

Astronomers believe that the main factor that shapes the life of and death of a star is how much mass it began with Stars contract and usually fall into the main sequence Stars can expand into a giant or supergiant, the color depends on the temperature of the gases present

The stars contract again into dwarfs or fizzle out or explode White dwarf – when a blue white core of a star is left behind Supernova – when a supergiant runs out of fuel and creates a brilliant explosion Neutron star – remains of a high mass star after a supernova Pulsar – rapidly spinning neutron star that produces radio waves Black hole – object with a gravity so strong that nothing, not even light can escape