Question

In general, what is true of very massive stars (those with eight or more solar masses)?

A. They have so much more hydrogen fuel than low-mass stars that it takes them much longer to use it up than stars with less mass.
B. They skip the hydrogen-burning stage altogether and start their lives fusing iron.
C. They go through their hydrogen fuel supply much more quickly than low-mass stars.
D. All of them have already gone supernova.

Answer 1

Most stars take millions of years to die. When a star like the Sun has used up all its hydrogen fuel, it expands into a red giant. It may be millions of kilometers in diameter, being large enough to engulf the planets Mercury and Venus.

After shedding its outer layers, the star collapses into a very dense white dwarf. A teaspoon of matter from a white dwarf would weigh up to 100 tons. Over trillions of years, the white dwarf cools and becomes invisible.

Stars heavier than eight times the mass of the Sun end their lives very suddenly. When they run out of fuel, they expand into red supergiants. They try to stay alive by consuming different fuels, but this only works for a few million years. After that, they produce a huge supernova explosion.

Step-by-step explanation: