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Types of Stars and Their Life Cycle Explained

Tap a star type to see its defining traits.

Main-Sequence Star

The category most stars in the universe belong to, including our sun β€” the "prime of life" stage, when a star shines steadily through nuclear fusion.

Red Giant

The swollen state a main-sequence star enters as it nears the end of its life β€” its surface temperature drops, but its size increases dramatically, giving it a reddish glow.

White Dwarf

The hot, extremely dense remnant left behind after a red giant sheds its outer layers β€” a mass roughly equal to the sun compressed into a size roughly equal to Earth.

Neutron Star

An extremely dense object left behind after a massive star goes supernova β€” so dense that a piece the size of a sugar cube would weigh hundreds of millions of tons.

Supergiant

A massive star tens to hundreds of times the size of the sun, which lives a short, violent life before typically ending in a supernova.

Black Hole (Stellar Remnant)

An object formed when an extremely massive star collapses in on itself after going supernova β€” its gravity is so powerful that not even light can escape.

Stars Have a Life Cycle Too

A star's ultimate fate depends entirely on its mass. A star roughly the size of the sun will eventually end its life as a white dwarf, while a much more massive star will go supernova and leave behind either a neutron star or a black hole.

What Stage Is the Sun In Right Now?

The sun is currently a main-sequence star, stably undergoing nuclear fusion, and is expected to swell into a red giant in roughly 5 billion years.

Frequently Asked Questions

What stage is the sun currently at?

The sun is currently a main-sequence star stably undergoing nuclear fusion, and is expected to expand into a red giant in about 5 billion years.

What kind of star becomes a black hole?

A star far more massive than the sun (roughly 20 times or more) reaches the end of its life in a supernova explosion, and if the remaining core is massive enough to collapse under its own gravity, it becomes a black hole.