What is a typical lifetime for an O-type main sequence star?

What is a typical lifetime for an O-type main sequence star?

The lifetimes of main sequence stars therefore range from a million years for a 40 solar mass O-type star, to 560 billion years for a 0.2 solar mass M-type star.

Which spectral type star has the longest lifetime?

The stars with the longest lifetimes are red dwarfs; some may be nearly as old as the universe itself.

  • Red Dwarf Stars. Astronomers define a red dwarf as a star having between about 0.08 and 0.5 times the mass of the sun and formed primarily of hydrogen gas.
  • Luminosity and Lifetime.
  • Nuclear Fusion.
  • Life Cycle of Stars.

How old are Type O stars?

Absolute magnitudes range from about −4, 3,400 times brighter than the sun, to about −5.8, 18,000 times brighter than the sun. Class O stars are very young, no more than a few million years old, and in our galaxy they all have high metallicities, around twice that of the sun.

Do O and B-type stars have long lives?

Their spectra have neutral helium lines, which are most prominent at the B2 subclass, and moderate hydrogen lines. As O- and B-type stars are so energetic, they only live for a relatively short time.

What is the lifetime of a star?

Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years for the most massive to trillions of years for the least massive, which is considerably longer than the age of the universe. The table shows the lifetimes of stars as a function of their masses.

How do you find the lifetime of a star?

To find the lifetime in years of a Main Sequence star, multiply the ratio of the star’s mass and luminosity in solar units times approximately 1010 years.

Which type of star has the shortest lifespan?

The most massive stars have the shortest lives. Stars that are 25 to 50 times that of the Sun live for only a few million years. They die so quickly because they burn massive amounts of nuclear fuel.

What type of mass star has the shortest life?

When a star is more than ten times as massive as the sun, it becomes a Supergiant star. Supergiants have the shortest lifespans of any star, as the temperatures in a supergiant’s core get so high that it is able to fuse the helium that is left over after hydrogen burning has stopped.

How long does an O-type star live?

… young stars of spectral types O and B. They have absolute luminosities as bright as any star in the Galaxy—on the order of one million times the luminosity of the Sun. Such stars have very short lifetimes, only lasting a few million years.

Is an O spectral class star a red giant?

The Sun is a yellow dwarf. A red dwarf is a small, cool, very faint, main sequence star whose surface temperature is under about 4,000 K. Red dwarfs are the most common type of star….Spectral Classes.

Star Type O
Color Blue
Approximate Surface Temperature over 25,000 K
Average Mass (The Sun = 1) 60
Examples 10 Lacertra

How long do O stars live?

The least luminous O-type stars can remain on the main sequence for around 10 million years, but cool slowly during that time and become early B-type stars. No massive star remains with spectral class O for more than about 5–6 million years.

Can O-type stars have planets?

While they’re easy to spot in the night sky, O-type stars like Zeta Ophiuchi are the most rare. We haven’t yet found any planets orbiting one. Planets that do exist likely have been stripped of their atmospheres by these stars’ strong ultraviolet light.

author

Back to Top