Quiz 04/16/2013

1. What are the life stages of a high-mass star? They live short lives, rapidly fusing its core hydrogen into helium.
2. How do high-mass stars make the elements necessary for life? They create these elements through helium capture.
3. How does a high-mass star die? When gravity overcomes degeneracy pressure in the iron core, the core collapses into a ball of neutrons and the star explodes in a super nova.
4. How does a star's mass determine its life story? Stars born with masses less than 8M Sun follow life stages similar to those of our Sun
5. How are the lives of stars with close companions different? Stars in close binary systems can exchange mass with each other, altering their life histories. 
6. When did Supernova 1987A explode? February 23, 1987
7. In which hemisphere was it seen? The southern hemisphere.
8. Which civilization saw Supernova 1054? Chinese
9. What happened in the Crab Nebula 959 years ago? Supernova 1054 exploded
10. Are neutrinos produced in a supernova explosion? Yes