The Life of a Star and the H-R Diagram

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Choose an initial mass and push the time slider: the 3D star changes size and color while its point on the H-R diagram moves from the pre-main sequence across the zero-age main sequence to the giant or supergiant stage and on to a white dwarf, neutron star or black hole, returning matter to space. A cross-section shows how the inside depends on mass and stage, and aging a star cluster lets you read its age from the turnoff on the C-M diagram.

Key conceptsH-R diagram · stellar evolution · zero-age main sequence · main-sequence star · red giant · white dwarf · supernova · color–magnitude diagram of a cluster

• Astronomy & Space