High Mass Star Death

What High Mass Stars Become

Mass of Star (M) (1M =

Initial Solar Mass (M) (before

Result from Star Death

Suns solar mass)

supernova)

1.4 - 3M

8 - 20M

Neutron Stars (Normal, Pulsars,

and Magnetars)

3 - 5M

Approx. 15 - 20M

Quark Stars & Electroweak Stars

5 - 100M

20M+

Stellar Blackhole

100 - 106M

N/A

Intermediate Blackhole

105-10M +

N/A

Supermassive Blackhole

Fusion Process and Details

Fusion
Process

Fusion
Products

He

Fusion
Temperature
(C)

Mass of Star
(M)

Fusion Times
for a Star of
20M

10 Million

0.07 - 0.077M 8 Million Years

Density of
20M Star (kg/
cm3)
0.0045

+
He

C, Ne, O

100 Million

0.33M +

1 Million Years

0.97

Ne, Mg, Na

500 Million

8M +

1000 Years

170

Ne

Mg, O

1 Billion

8M +

1 Years

3,100

Si, S, Ar

1.5 Billion

8M +

4 Months

5,550

Si

Fe, Cr

2 - 3 Billion

8M +

1 Day

33,400

Hydrogen

Star Fusion
Sequence

Neutron Star

1. Approximately ___________ Earth can fit between the Earth and the Sun.
2. VY Canis Majoris has a diameter of _____ times the distance of the earth to the sun or
_____ AU (astronomical units, 150 million km).
3. Supernova happen when a star of _____Mor greater enter Si fusion and due to the
presence of inert Iron (Fe) attempting to fuse, it removes energy from the stars fusion
reactions causing the star to collapse under its own gravitational pressure.
4. At this point, a shockwave created by the collapsing core expands outward, hitting the falling
material and slowing it down. Due to quantum mechanics within the core now
____________ are created and blast outward with the energy equivalent of ______ times
the Suns energy output over its entire lifespan.
5. Neutron stars are so dense, a single sugar cube of its surface would weigh _____________
grams.
6. The gravity on neutron stars can be so immense it will function as a _________________
_______ allowing the viewer to see the star in its entirety (including the reverse side of the
star).
7. Neutron stars have the magnetic force of

All sides of a sphere

viewed from a single
direction.

______________ gauss.
8. A single Gauss is equal to the magnetic field around the ____________. Earth has a
magnetic field of 0.2 - 0.6 gauss.
9. Neutron Stars rotate a few times each second, and our sun has a synodic rotation period of
27.275 days. But Pulsars can rotate as fast as _________ times a second, thats over
40,000 times in a minute!
10. Neutron stars are always less than ________ km across.
11. Starquakes occur on __________________ and involve the shifting of the stars crust on the
order of microns.

Teacher sheet
sun rotation
synodic rotation period of 27.2753 days
1 gauss
1.3million earths inside
11,760 Earths between theEarth and the Sun
150 million km
Supernovae
collapse of 8m+ star creates neutrinos that carry away 100X the energy the sun will
produce in its entire life span.
Slams into the collapsing exterior of the star and blasts it outward at 10% the
speed of light
supernova remnant (crab nebula)
explosive nucleosynthesis (fusion of elements by explosive force)
neutron star 1.4m to 3m initial mass of 8m
1 trillion gauss n^12
earth is 0.25 - 0.6 gauss
rotates many times a second
collapse of 8m+ star creates neutrinos that carry away 100X the energy the sun will
produce in its entire life span.
less than 20 km across
Pulsars
are neutron stars
can have rotation periods in the microsecond range
fastest 716 times a second or 42,960 times a minute
Pulsar PSR J1748-2446ad
magnetar SGR 1806-20 December 27, 2004
magnetohydrodynamic dynamo process
if conditions are right and the heat and the magnetic field combine to increase
the magnetic fields power a magnetar is born
1,000 trillion gauss
more energy in 0.1 second than the sun emits in 150,000 years.
10^40 watt
50,000 light years away
diametre 20km
rotation period of 7.5 seconds
micro blackhole < (less than the) mass of the moon created in the LHC
stellar blackhole 5m + initial greater than 20m
intermediate blackhole 10^3m (1,000m) +
supermassive blackhole 10^5-10m (100,000 - 10 billion) +