Low-Mass, High-Mass, What's the Difference?

    Stars contain tremendously varying levels of energy and mass. Obviously, not every star is going to be the exact same as the previous one, and obviously they all go throughout different phases in their lifetimes. And yes- lifetimes, because stars do die. 

    The brightness of a star emitted depends on how far away from Earth it is. Think of it as watching a train pull into its station. As it gets closer, it starts to appear bigger. A star a few lightyears away is going to shine much brighter than a star that is ten times the distance away. A star's brightness can also depend on how much light energy it emits. This time, think of the star as a battery-operated flashlight. If the batteries are new, the light is going to shine as bright as it ever will, but if the batteries are old and almost dead, the light will appear more dim and less piercing. (Please keep in mind that this doesn't necessarily mean that older stars will appear dimmer than younger stars; I am trying to make a connection between the battery fluid levels and the level of light from a star.)

Image Credits: Astronomy/Stellar Evolution - Wiki! - Scioly.org

    Mass affects the phases a star will go through before it explodes. Low-mass stars go from protostars, their main sequence, red giants, planetary nebulae, white dwarves, and finally to black dwarves. High-mass stars follow the same path until after their main sequence, where they become red super giants, and then planetary nebulae. From there, the stars will either transform into neutron stars or black holes. Right now, you're probably thinking, "Hayley, what does that even mean?" But don't worry, because we'll get into that in the next post!