Life Cycle of a Star

<Tab/>Stars are born in high density areas of space called nebulas. A nebula (as defined by Dictionary.com) is: A diffuse mass of interstellar dust or gas or both, visible as luminous patches or areas of darkness depending on the way the mass absorbs or reflects incident radiation. The stars are born because of the gravity of the nebula acts on itself, condensing the gas and dust into a protostar. &…

…If the mass of the remaining core is 1.5-3 solar masses it contracts to become a very dense Neutron Star. If the core is greater than 3 masses it will contract to form a black hole. A black hole has such a strong gravitational force that nothing it attracts towards it can escape, not even light. Sources: [Dictionary.com] [Oak Meadow Earth Science Learning Guide] [http://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/workx/starlife/StarpageS_26M.html}