04/11/13 Quiz

1. How do stars form? A star is born when gravity causes a cloud of interstellar gas to contract to the point at which the central object becomes hot enough to sustain nuclear fusion in its core.
2. How massive are newborn stars? 300m Sun to 0.08m Sun.
3. What are the life stages of a low-mass star? Stars go through a main-sequence stage, a red giant stage, and then goes through it's last gasps.
4. How does a low-mass star die? The low-mass star will eject its outer layers into space, creating a huge shell of gas expanding away from the inert carbon core.
5. Do stars produce calcium? Yes
6. Have we seen stars being born? Yes
7. What is a planetary nebula? Emission nebula consisting of an expanding glowing shell of ionized gas ejected during the asymptotic giant branch phase of certain types of stars late in their lives.
8. Are new stars being born in the Orion nebula? Yes
9. What is the mass range of most stars? Sun to 0.08m Sun.
10. How does the law of angular momentum apply to star formation? Conservation of angular momentum ensures that protostars rotate rapidly.