Giant and Supergiant Stars
By Garrett E
Our sun is huge, right. Well, some suns are 20 times bigger than ours! These are called Giant and Supergiant stars.
This is Antares, a giant star, compared to our sun.
How are Giant and Supergiant stars made?
Giant and Supergiant stars are formed when hydrogen atoms fuse, to form helium. The core of a giant star is pure iron. A star will die out when everything outside of the iron is used up. This happens because iron cannot produce energy. Red giant stars are actually not very hot but blue giants are. Supergiant stars are very rare and they are very luminous.
Red Giants
Smaller stars will usually become red giants. Our star will eventually become one in a long long time. Once a Red Giant starts to die it forms a planetary nebula and becomes a white dwarf. Larger stars shrink and the remains form a pulsar.
Blue Supergiants
Blue Supergiants are much hotter than Red Giants though Red Supergiants are bigger than Blues. Rigel is a Blue Supergiant and it is 17 times larger than our sun. Surface temperatures of a Blue Supergiant range from 20,000-50,000 degrees C. Our sun is only 6,000 degrees C. A Blue Supergiant can also become a Red Supergiant and vice versa.
Largest star ever discovered, compared to our Sun
Works Cited
Antares Star. Digital image. Solar System Quick. N.p., 2015. Web.
Cain, Fraser. "Blue Supergiant Star." Universe Today. N.p., 03 Feb. 2009. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
Cain, Fraser. "Supergiant Star." Universe Today. N.p., 12 Feb. 2009. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
Hatchett, Clint. "Red Giants." Stars and Galaxies. Vol. 6. Danbury, CT: Grolier Educational, 1998. 25. Print.
"Largest Star Ever Discovered, Compared to Our Sun." YouTube. YouTube, 2 Sept. 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.
Rigel Star. Digital image. Solar System Quick. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.
"The Stars." The New Book of Popular Science. Vol. 1. Danbury, CT: Grolier, 2006. 190-96. Print.