What determines whether a star becomes a black hole or neutron star?

If it is less than about three solar masses it remains as a neutron star. If the neutron star is more than about three solar masses then the pressure exceeds the neutron degeneracy pressure. This causes the neutron star to collapse into a black hole.

What determines if a star becomes a white dwarf a neutron star or a black hole quizlet?

The stars that become white dwarfs are stars that were smaller and did not die in a supernova explosion, and others become neutron stars/black holes because the star was huge and it exploded in a huge supernova, making either a neutron star or a black hole. What will happen to the sun when it runs out of fuel?

What force causes a star to turn into a black hole?

gravity
A black hole is a region in space where the pulling force of gravity is so strong that light is not able to escape. The strong gravity occurs because matter has been pressed into a tiny space. This compression can take place at the end of a star’s life. Some black holes are a result of dying stars.

What happens if a neutron star dies?

What happens when a star dies? Astronomers thought they had it all figured out. A dying star either fades into a simmering white dwarf, explodes and then shrinks into a super-dense neutron star or collapses into an all-consuming black hole, depending on its mass.

What type of star will become a black hole when it dies quizlet?

If a neutron star was more massive, the degenerate neutrons would not be able to support the weight and it would collapse, especially into a black hole.

How does a white dwarf differ from a neutron star quizlet?

A white dwarf is an electron degenerate object, while a neutron star is a neutron degenerate object. A white dwarf has a larger radius and is much less dense than a neutron star. All white dwarfs are less than 1.4 MSun while neutron stars are between 1.4 and 3 MSun.

How does a star become a neutron star?

Neutron stars are formed when a massive star runs out of fuel and collapses. The very central region of the star – the core – collapses, crushing together every proton and electron into a neutron. (Stars with higher masses will continue to collapse into stellar-mass black holes.)

Can a neutron star become a black hole?

A neutron star is formed during a supernova, an explosion of a star that is at least 8 solar masses. The maximum mass of a neutron star is 3 solar masses. If it gets more massive than that, then it will collapse into a quark star, and then into a black hole.

Which type of star will eventually become a black hole?

neutron star
The most massive stars, with eight times the mass of the sun or more, will never become white dwarfs. Instead, at the end of their lives, white dwarfs will explode in a violent supernova, leaving behind a neutron star or black hole.

Which star will become a black hole when it dies?

Most black holes form from the remnants of a large star that dies in a supernova explosion. (Smaller stars become dense neutron stars, which are not massive enough to trap light.)

What happens when a star becomes a black hole?

If neutron degeneracy is not enough to resist the star’s collapse it will continue to shrink until the matter is all compressed into an infinitely small, infinitely dense point called a singularity. This is the centre of a black hole. The life span of a star and its final state are determined by the mass of the star.

What happens when a star goes supernova?

A supernova explosion occurs when the core of a large star is mainly iron and collapses under gravity. The pressure causes protons and electrons to combine into neutrons forming a neutron star. The energy released in the process blows away the outer layers of the star. What happens next depends on the mass of the neutron star.

What happens to a star when it collapses?

A small central core will remain and like smaller stars this will collapse only this time electron degeneracy will not be enough to support the star’s mass against its gravitational collapse and it will continue to shrink until it becomes a tiny, but hugely massive, neutron star held together by neutron degeneracy.

What determines the gravity of a black hole?

Black holes are detected by finding the ones that are close to other stars and watching for the radiation (mostly x-rays) given off by matter falling into it before the event horizon is crossed. Check out the Chandra X-Ray Telescope site for x-ray pictures of possible black holes. The key to the puzzle is gravity which is determined by mass.