Question

Explain the steps of the life cycle of a star. Beginning with a nebula and ending with old age/death of a star, explain each step in a star’s life cycle.

Answer 1

These steps are completely dependant on the size of the star, but I will give the lifecycle of a large star.

First, a star is born in a nebula, which is a cloud of gas in space.
Then, it becomes larger as it burns hydrogen through nuclear fusion.
When it dies, it goes out in a HUGE bang called a supernova (For an even bigger star, it becomes a hypernova).
Finally, it can end up as a black hole if the whole star collapses into an infinitely dense mass; it can end up as a neutron star, or it can end up as a pulsar.