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A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. [1] The nearest star to Earth is the Sun.Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of light.
Main-sequence stars vary in surface temperature from approximately 2,000 to 50,000 K, whereas more-evolved stars – in particular, newly-formed white dwarfs – can have surface temperatures above 100,000 K. [3] Physically, the classes indicate the temperature of the star's atmosphere and are normally listed from hottest to coldest.
The internal structure of a main sequence star depends upon the mass of the star. In stars with masses of 0.3–1.5 solar masses (M ☉), including the Sun, hydrogen-to-helium fusion occurs primarily via proton–proton chains, which do not establish a steep temperature gradient. Thus, radiation dominates in the inner portion of solar mass stars.
Following Russell's presentation of the diagram to a meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1912, Arthur Eddington was inspired to use it as a basis for developing ideas on stellar physics. In 1926, in his book The Internal Constitution of the Stars he explained the physics of how stars fit on the diagram. [15]
The final fate of the star depends on its mass, with stars of mass greater than about eight times the Sun becoming core collapse supernovae; [102] while smaller stars blow off their outer layers and leave behind the inert core in the form of a white dwarf. The ejection of the outer layers forms a planetary nebula. [103]
A multiple star system consists of two or more stars that appear from Earth to be close to one another in the sky. [dubious – discuss] This may result from the stars actually being physically close and gravitationally bound to each other, in which case it is a physical multiple star, or this closeness may be merely apparent, in which case it is an optical multiple star [a] Physical multiple ...
Representative lifetimes of stars as a function of their masses The change in size with time of a Sun-like star Artist's depiction of the life cycle of a Sun-like star, starting as a main-sequence star at lower left then expanding through the subgiant and giant phases, until its outer envelope is expelled to form a planetary nebula at upper right Chart of stellar evolution
A star whose initial mass is less than approximately 0.25 M ☉ will not become a giant star at all. For most of their lifetimes, such stars have their interior thoroughly mixed by convection and so they can continue fusing hydrogen for a time in excess of 10 12 years, much longer than the current age of the Universe. They steadily become ...