STAR FORMATION

AND EVOLUTION
AFT ER GOI NG T HR OUGH T HIS T OPIC,
YOU EVIDENCE
GIVE ARE EX PECT
FORED T O:
AND DESCRIBE THE
FORMATION OF HEAVIER ELEMENTS DURING
STAR FORMATION AND EVOLUTION (MELC).
SPECIFICALLY , YOU WILL:
IDENTIFY THE HEAVIER ELEMENTS FORMED IN
1 THE STAR EVOLUTION AND THEIR ATOMIC
MASSES

2 EXPLAIN THE FORMATION OF HEAVIER ELEMENTS IN LET’S

THE STAGES OF STAR EVOLUTION; AND,
FIND
OUT!
3 CITE EVIDENCE ABOUT THE FORMATION OF HEAVIER
ELEMENTS DURING STAR FORMATION AND EVOLUTION.
HAVE YOU OBSERVED THE BRIGHT STARS IN A CLEAR NIGHT SKY? HAVE
YOU WITNESSED THE SPECTACULAR SUNRISE AT DAWN? I THINK YOU
HAVE. THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR IN THE UNIVERSE. BOTH THE STARS
AND SUN IN THE UNIVERSE TAKE PART OF OUR EVERYDAY LIVES. WE
COULD EVEN SAY THAT WE ARE THE UNIVERSE’S WAY OF
EXPERIENCING ITSELF.
 WHAT IS A
STAR?
A STAR IS A BALL
OF GAS A STAR’S LIFE
STRONGLY HELD GRAVITY PULLS
STARTS AS
TOGETHER BY THESE CLOUDS
ITS OWN CLOUDS OF DUST
AND GAS.
TOGETHER.
GRAVITATIONAL
FORCE.
 WHAT IS A
STAR?
STARS WITH STARS, IN
VARIOUS
DIFFERENT GENERAL, BEGIN
NUCLEAR
MASSES GROW LIFE IN THE SAME
FUSION
AND “EVOLVE” WAY HOWEVER
REACTIONS TAKE
(OR CHANGE) THEY DEVELOP IN
PLACE AND
THROUGHOUT DIFFERENT WAYS
DRIVE THE
THE DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON
FORMATION AND
STAGES OF THEIR THEIR SIZE.
DEVELOPMENT
LIVES.
OF STARS.
 HOW ARE STARS FORMED?
SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THAT THE FORMATION OF THE UNIVERSE BEGAN
THROUGH THE explosion of a primordial atom which happened 13 billion
years ago. It is Known as the Big Bang . It became a theory that also
explains the continuous expansion of the universe.

LET’S
FIND
OUT!
 HOW ARE STARS FORMED?
RIGHT AFTER BIG BANG, PROTONS AND NEUTRONS COMBINED
TOGETHER AND FORMED light elements Hydrogen and Helium in the
process of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. Other light elements such as
Lithium and Beryllium Were also formed during this process.

LET’S TAKE A LOOK

AT THE STELLAR
 1 THE OUTER SPACE MAY SEEM LIKE A VACUUM BUT IN REALITY, IT
CONTAINS VERY THINLY SPREAD OF GAS AND DUST CALLED THE
INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM (ISM).

STARS ARE FORMED FROM THE ACCUMULATION (OR ACCRETION) OF THESE CLOUDS
2 OF DUST AND GAS, REFERRED TO AS MOLECULAR CLOUDS.

THE GRAVITATIONAL ENERGY PULLS TOGETHER THE CLOUDS OF GAS AND DUST
3 CAUSING IT TO COLLAPSE. AS THE CLOUDS OF GAS AND DUST COLLAPSE, THEY
BECOME DENSER AND THIS PAVES THE WAY FOR THE FORMATION OF STARS.

THE DENSE CLOUDS OF GAS AND DUST ARE KNOWN AS A NEBULA – THE BIRTHPLACE
3 OF STARS.

THE ORION NEBULA SITUATED IN OUR

GALAXY, THE MILKY WAY, IS ONE OF THE
BRIGHTEST NEBULAE THAT CAN BE
OBSERVED IN THE NIGHT SKY.
 THE PROCESS BEGINS ON (A), WHERE CLOUDS OF
A GAS AND DUST IN THE SPACE BETWEEN STARS
(ISM) COLLAPSE

INTO A DENSE SPHERE OF GAS CALLED A

B PRESTELLAR CORE (B) THAT EVENTUALLY WILL
BECOME THE SUN.

DURING THE COLLAPSE, A DISK (C) FORMS

C AROUND THE CORE, WHILE TWO JETS ARE
EMITTED AT THE POLES.

AT SOME POINT THE STAR STOPS GROWING, BUT

D GAS STILL FALL ONTO THE DISK (D).

AFTER A FEW MILLION YEARS THIS PROCESS ALSO

THE PROCESS OF STAR E HALTS. THE STAR IS NOW BORN (E),

FORMATION
THE FORMATION OF STARS INVOLVES SEVERAL STAGES
AND EACH STAGE COULD TAKE AROUND MILLION YEARS. WHILE THE PLANETS ARE BEING FORMED FROM
F THE LEFT-OVER MATERIAL, WHICH WILL
THE FIGURE ON THE PROCESS OF STAR FORMATION SHOWS THE SIX (6) EVENTUALLY BECOME A SOLAR SYSTEM (F). A
STEPS (A TO F) OF STAR FORMATION FOR SUN-LIKE STARS. SOLAR SYSTEM TYPICALLY LIVES 10 BILLION
YEARS AFTER THE FORMATION PROCESS
 JUPITER
URANUS
EARTH
MERCURY PLUTO

MARS
VENUS
NEPTUNE
SATURN

STELLAR NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
THE WORD “STELLAR” MEANS STAR
AND THE FORMATION OF ELEMENTS
IN THE CENTER OF THE STAR IS
CALLED STELLAR NUCLEOSYNTHESIS.

CARL SAGAN SAID THAT “WE ARE MADE OF

STAR STUFF.” WHAT DID HE MEAN BY
THAT? IF WE KNOW HOW SOME IMPORTANT
HEAVY ELEMENTS WERE FORMED SAME AS
STARS, THAT MAYBE A CLUE.
 STELLAR NUCLEOSYNTHESIS

STARS SPEND THE MAJORITY OF THEIR LIFE FUSING

HYDROGEN INTO HELIUM THROUGH A PROCESS
CALLED NUCLEAR FUSION. WHEN THE HYDROGEN IS
NEARLY USED UP, THE STAR CAN FUSE HELIUM INTO
HEAVIER ELEMENTS. ELEMENTS HEAVIER THAN
BERYLLIUM ARE FORMED INSIDE THE STARS KNOWN
AS STELLAR NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
STELLAR NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
THE STAR FORMATION THEORY SUGGESTS THAT STARS ARE FORMED
A FROM THE COLLAPSE OF THE DENSE SECTIONS OF MOLECULAR
CLOUD. (NEBULA)

AS THIS CLOUD COLLAPSES, THE FRAGMENTS SHRINK TO FORM A

STELLAR CORE KNOWN AS PROTOSTAR. THE PROTOSTAR SHRINKS
B DUE TO STRONG GRAVITATIONAL FORCE WHILE ITS TEMPERATURE
INCREASES.

WHEN THE CORE TEMPERATURE REACHES ABOUT 10 MILLION KELVIN,

NUCLEAR REACTIONS START. AS A RESULT, THE CONTRACTION IS
C STOPPED AND GRAVITATIONAL EQUILIBRIUM IS ATTAINED. THE
PROTOSTAR HAS BECOME A MAIN SEQUENCE STAR.

MERCU 88 DAYS/ YEAR

RY
THE HOTTEST PLANET IN
VENU SOLAR SYSTEM

S
SUITABLE CLIMATIC CONDITION,

EART SUPPORT LIFE IN ALL FORMS.

MOON IS THE NATURAL SATELLITE

LES S ON H
3
RED PLANET.
MAR HAVE LARGEST DUST
STORMS
 IT IS FORMED FROM NEBULA DUE TO THE GRAVITY THAT PULLED
A HYDROGEN GAS TOGETHER UNTIL IT SPINS FASTER AND FASTER AND
BECOMES IGNITED. A PROTOSTAR RISES.

MAIN SEQUENCE STAR STARTS TO FORM WHEN NUCLEAR FUSION

OCCURS AT THE CORE OF THE STAR, IT BEGINS TO CONTRACT, GLOW
B AND BECOME STABLE. HYDROGEN IS CONVERTED INTO HELIUM.

THE STAR IS UNABLE TO GENERATE HEAT WHEN IT RUNS OUT OF

HYDROGEN IN ITS CORE LEADING TO ITS CONTRACTION AND
C EXPANSION. IT COOLS DOWN AND GLOWS RED. THE HELIUM FUSED
INTO CARBON. THE STAR IS NOW RED GIANT STAR.

RED GIANT STAR BECOMES EXHAUSTED OF NUCLEAR FUEL, THE

D OUTER MATERIAL IS BLOWN OFF INTO SPACE LEAVING THE INERT

CARBON. THE REMNANT IS KNOWN AS WHITE DWARF.

THIS IS SAID TO BE THE REMAIN OF THE WHITE DWARF THAT COOLED

E DOWN AND NO LONGER EMITS LIGHT AND HEAT. THE HYPOTHETICAL
BLACK DWARF.
 A MORE MASSIVE MAIN SEQUENCE STAR EVOLVES, COOLS AND
A EXPANDS FASTER THAN LOW MASS STAR AND WILL TURN INTO RED
SUPER GIANT STAR, THE LARGEST KNOWN STAR. CARBON FUSION
STILL OCCURS AND OXYGEN FORMED.

EXPLOSION OF STAR OR SUPERNOVA RELEASES LARGE AMOUNT OF

B ENERGY. BECAUSE OF THAT, ELEMENTS ARE DISPERSED INTO THE
SPACE.

IT IS BELIEVED THAT A NEUTRON STAR IS FORMED FROM SUPERNOVA

C EXPLOSION. THIS IS ALSO THE SMALLEST STAR

D BLACK HOLE IS A REGION IN SPACE WHERE GRAVITY IS TOO STRONG

THAT NO MATTER CAN ESCAPE FROM IT.
 THE LARGEST PLANET WITH THE SHORTEST DAY,
JUPITE 1 DAY IN JUPITER = 9 HOURS 55 MINUTES.

R
FAMOUS FEATURE OF SATURN IS
SATUR 'RING SYSTEM' WHICH IS COMPOSED MOSTLY
OF ICE PARTICLES.
N
VERY COLD PLANET
URAN
EVOLUTION OF
(-224 DEGREE CELSIUS)

US
NEPTU
STAR
THE ‘ICE GIANT’

NE

STARS THAT ARE FAR GREATER IN MASS THAN THE SUN

FOLLOW THE UPPER PATH IN THE FIGURE:
• red super giant star → supernova → neutron star, or a
black hole (depending on size)

STARS THAT ARE SIMILAR IN SIZE TO THE SUN FOLLOW

THE LOWER PATH IN THE FIGURE:
• Red giant star → white dwarf → black dwarf
LET’S DISCUSS
 CERES PLUTO

HAUMEA
MAKEMA ERIS
KE

LOOK AT THE DIAGRAMS.

THE S E WILL EXPL AIN HOW
S TARS ARE FORMED INTO
DIFFERENT S TAGES BECAU SE
OF NU CLEAR FU SION
(COM BINATION OF NU CLEI TO
FORM HEAVIER ONE) AMONG
HE AVY ELEMENTS
THE DIAGRAM SHOWS the Proton-Proton Chain reaction in main sequence star. This is the
process by which average star gets their energy and convert Hydrogen into Helium. It
starts with proton and neutron fused together to form deuterium . When one proton
collides with deuterium, Helium-3 is formed. Two Helium 3 collided WILL FORM HELIUM-
4.
LET’S DISCUSS
EARTH URANUS VENUS

LO O K AT TH E D I AG RA M S .
TH ES E W I LL E XP L A I N H O W
S TARS AR E F O R M E D I N T O
D I F F ERENT S TAG E S B E C A U S E
O F NU C LEA R F U S I O N
( C O M B I NATI O N O F N U C LE I T O
F O R M H EAVI ER O N E ) A M O N G TRI ALPHA PROCESS HAPPENS IN RED GIANT STAR ONCE THEY LEAVE
H EAVY ELE M E N T S
THE STAGE OF main sequence star. This is how three Helium-4 are
converted into Carbon.
LET’S DISCUSS
A STAR ACCUMULATES MORE MASS AND CONTINUES TO GROW INTO RED
SUPER GIANT. Alpha particle fusion happens at its core and creates more
heavy elements until Iron. This is known as the Alpha ladder process.

O O K A T T H E D I A G R AMS.
L
N HOW
THESE WILL EXPLAI
T A R S A R E F O R M E D INTO
S
E N T S T A G E S B E C A USE
DIFFE R
OF NUCLEAR FUSION
B I N A T I O N O F N U C L EI TO
(COM
O R M H E A V I E R O N E ) AMONG
F
H E AV Y E L E M E N T S
JUPITER URANU
EARTH
MERCURY S PLUTO

MARS
NEPTUNE
VENUS SATURN
LET’S DISCUSS
 LO
TH O
S ES K A
D
I F TA R E W T
FE S TH
(C IL
O O EN R L E E D
R A
FO M F T E XP IAG
RM I B N F
N A U C S TA O R L A R A
HE T LE G ME IN M
HE A IO AR ES D H S.
AV V I E N O F B I N O W
Y R F US EC TO
EL O N IO AU
EM NE UC N SE
)
EN A EI L
TS MO TO
NG

THE CASE IS DIFFERENT IN MASSIVE star or star eight times larger than solar mass. They undergo CNO (Carbon,
Nitrogen, Oxygen) cycle to convert Hydrogen into Helium. You can see at the right how Carbon 12 fused with proton
(H) and form Nitrogen 13. Nitrogen 13 undergoes beta decay to form Carbon 13. Carbon 13 captures proton (H) and
Nitrogen 14 is formed. Nitrogen 14 captures proton and Oxygen 15 is produced. Oxygen 15 undergoes beta decay
and produces Nitrogen 15. Nitrogen 15 fused with proton gives off Helium and ends up with Carbon 12. Then the
process repeats
HOW DO ELEMENTS HEAVIER THAN IRON
FORM?
AS THE ENERGY AT THE core of the star decreases, nuclear fusion cannot
produce elements higher than Iron . Different pathway is needed for
heavier elements to be formed.

A NEUTRON IS ADDED TO A SEED NUCLEUS. Below is the

NEUTRON representation of how neutron is capture and heavier
nucleus is formed
CAPTURE
NEUTRON CAPTURE CAN BE SLOW OR
RAPID:

R PROCESS OR RAPID PROCESS

S PROCESS OR SLOW PROCESS HAPPENS MEANS THAT THERE IS FASTER rate of capturing
WHEN THERE IS A neutron before it undergoes radioactive decay thus,
slow rate of capturing neutron while there more neutrons can be combined at the nucleus. This is
what happens in a supernova forming heavier
is a faster elements than Iron with the process known as
rate of radioactive decay hence increasing supernova nucleosynthesis.
the proton
by 1.
THE EXPLOSION OF STAR OR SUPERNOVA is believed to be the source of other elements
heavier than Iron. During the explosion, these heavy elements are dispersed into the space.
Aside from gases Hydrogen and Helium in space, other evidence of star formation is the
energy em itted during nuclear reaction . It is also the energy emitted by different forms of
radiation such as UV, Infrared, X ray, radio wave and microwave.
THANK YOU
SEE YOU NEXT
TIME