New findings detail a method for investigating the inner workings of stars in a rare phase
In 5 billion years or so, when the sun has used up the hydrogen in its core, it will inflate and turn into a red giant star. This phase of its life—and that of other stars up to twice its mass—is relatively short compared with the more than 10 billion-year life of the sun. The red giant will shine 1000 times brighter than the sun, and suddenly the helium deep in its core will begin fusing to carbon in a process called the “helium core flash.” After this, the star settles into 100 million years of quiet helium fusion.
phys.org
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2019-10-29
