What type of object will the Sun leave behind once it finished dying?
I know the answer is white dwarf, but what will its mass be like? big or small?
What types of objects will high-mass stars leave behind once they finish dying?
I want to say neutron stars, but what size, mass, and luminosity will they be?
If astronomers could detect and count up all of these types of objects what type would be the most numerous and why?
See response:
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To determine the type of object the Sun will leave behind once it finishes dying, we need to understand stellar evolution. The Sun is currently a main-sequence star, meaning it is burning hydrogen into helium in its core. As it runs out of hydrogen fuel, it will undergo changes leading to its death.
In about 5 billion years, the Sun will transform into a red giant. During this phase, it will expand and engulf the inner planets, including Earth. Eventually, it will shed its outer layers, leaving behind a dense core called a white dwarf. A white dwarf is a small, compact object approximately the size of Earth but with a mass about half that of the Sun. It is composed mostly of carbon and oxygen nuclei densely packed together. Over time, it will cool down and fade away, becoming a cold, dead remnant.
Now, let's move on to high-mass stars. These massive stars have different evolutionary paths due to their larger fuel reserves and intense fusion processes. Once they finish burning through their nuclear fuel, they explode in a supernova.
After a supernova, two possibilities can occur depending on the mass of the star. If the star's initial mass was between about 8 and 20 times that of the Sun, it will leave behind a dense, compact object called a neutron star. A neutron star is incredibly dense, with about 1.4 times the mass of the Sun compressed into a sphere about the size of a city. They have strong magnetic fields, spin rapidly, and emit powerful beams of radiation, often observed as pulsars.
For stars more massive than around 20 times the mass of the Sun, an even more extreme fate awaits. These stars will undergo a supernova, but instead of forming a neutron star, their core will collapse completely, forming a black hole. A black hole is a region of space with such strong gravitational forces that nothing, not even light, can escape it.
Regarding the size, mass, and luminosity of neutron stars, they can vary depending on factors like spin rate and magnetic field strength. Generally, they have diameters of about 10-15 kilometers and masses around 1.4 times that of the Sun. Luminosity can be significant as they emit radiation, especially in the form of X-rays.
Now, if astronomers could detect and count up all these types of objects, the most numerous would be white dwarfs. This is because low-mass stars like the Sun, which make up the majority of stars in the galaxy, will eventually become white dwarfs. High-mass stars are relatively rare compared to their lower mass counterparts. Therefore, the numbers of white dwarfs are expected to be higher than neutron stars or black holes in the Milky Way galaxy.
Understanding stellar evolution and the life cycles of different types of stars helps us predict the fate of the Sun and comprehend the diverse objects that exist in the universe.