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Introduction to
Astrophysics and Cosmology
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STELLAR DEATH
While stars with about the mass of our sun seem to be relatively boring, their more massive counterparts, stars with a mass > 8 solar masses, go out with much more of a bang. These stars are able to burn through different shells beyond helium, eventually reaching the element iron. Since iron will not fuse, it cannot be a source of energy for the star. The star’s core will continue to collapse and heat the iron nuclei until they photodisintigrate, separating into substituent neutrons and protons (which will combine with electrons to form neutrons as the core continues to collapse).
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Evolution of star with 200 times the mass of our sun, resulting in a supernova.
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From here, we know that if the mass of the core is less than 3 solar masses, the core firms up and the rest of the infalling material runs into it and bounces off in a catastrophic death throe known as a [Type II] Supernova.
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If the core’s mass is greater than 3 solar masses, gravitational collapse overtakes the resisting neutron degeneracy, becoming a black hole.
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