Massive stars, up to 150 times the size of the Sun, are difficult to form due to factors limiting their size. They produce heavy elements and go supernova or hypernova when they run out of fuel. Observations are made remotely to estimate their size and composition.
A massive star is a star with a mass eight times that of the Sun. It is difficult for stars to get that large, as a number of factors influence stellar development, and these factors often limit their size, but astronomers have been able to capable of observing massive stars up to 150 times the size of the Sun, proving that it is possible under the right conditions. Understanding how these stars form is a topic of interest to some astrophysicists, as is developing an understanding of how they age; massive stars go supernovae or hypernovae when they finally run out of fuel, making them notable figures in the cosmos.
Star formation involves a dense cloud of interstellar gas gradually attracting or collapsing together into a mass, which creates its own gravitational pull, pulling more gas towards it. As the mass increases, so does the gravitational attraction, but the star also begins to produce radiation pressure as a result of the reactions going on inside the star. This tends to limit the size, because the radiation pressure will blow the gases away from the star, inhibiting the accretion of more material. With a massive star, however, columns form that allow radiation pressure to vent as new gases are sucked into the star’s body. Once stabilized, the massive star has enough fuel to last for millions of years.
Eventually, a massive star begins to run out of energy, turning into a type of star known as a red supergiant near the end of its life. This star will in turn collapse on itself, generating a supernova that could be extremely luminous as it emits gas and heavy elements, adding to the interstellar medium. Once the supernova flares up, the star can turn into a neutron star or a black hole, depending on a number of variables.
Many massive stars are found in binary systems. Experimental models have suggested that this has to do with how these stars form; they often emit pellets of material which can be sucked up later or can develop into stars of their own. Massive stars are interesting because they produce many heavy elements, contributing to the composition of the interstellar medium and the balance of elements in the universe.
Measuring massive stars is tricky. Of course, astronomers and physicists can’t trot around a massive star with a gauge and scale. Observations of size and composition are made remotely, using existing data as a basis for making estimates about the nature of a star.
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