Editing Stellar Evolution (section)

== <span style="color: #FFFFFF;">Understanding</span> ==
A star's life is a constant '''Battle between Gravity and Pressure'''.

'''1. Birth (The Nebula)''':
Gravity pulls gas and dust together. As the center gets denser, it heats up. Once it reaches 15 million degrees, '''Nuclear Fusion''' begins. The outward pressure of the explosion balances the inward pull of gravity. The star is born.

'''2. Maturity (The Main Sequence)''':
The star spends 90% of its life here, fusing Hydrogen into Helium.
* '''Small Stars (Red Dwarfs)''': Burn slowly, can live for trillions of years.
* '''Medium Stars (Sun-like)''': Burn for about 10 billion years.
* '''Massive Stars (Blue Giants)''': Burn "fast and bright," living only a few million years.

'''3. Death (The Fate depends on Mass)''':
When the Hydrogen runs out, the balance is lost.
* '''Low Mass''': The star expands into a '''Red Giant''', then sheds its layers (Planetary Nebula) and leaves a '''White Dwarf'''.
* '''High Mass''': The star expands into a '''Supergiant''', begins fusing heavier elements (Carbon, Neon... up to Iron), then collapses and explodes in a '''Supernova'''. The core becomes a '''Neutron Star''' or a '''Black Hole'''.

'''The Iron Limit''': Fusion produces energy until you reach '''Iron'''. Fusing Iron ''uses'' energy rather than releasing it. When a massive star creates an Iron core, the outward pressure vanishes instantly, and the star collapses in milliseconds.
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