The Astrology of Space - Matrix Software

The Astrology of Space
A Supernova
This helium burning stage (red giant) continues for
several hundred million years before exhaustion. With
the helium gone, the contraction process again
resumes and still greater temperatures, densities, and
pressures result. At this point, the size or mass of the
star begins to dictate the final course of the life. For
very massive stars, the ignition of such thermonuclear
reactions as carbon, oxygen, and silicon fusion may
take place, creating all of the heavier elements. These
later stages in stellar evolution produce stars that are
very unstable. These stars can vary or pulsate in size
and luminosity. In certain cases this can lead to a total
stellar detonation, a supernova.
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