What is the single most crucial variable determining a star's subsequent characteristics after fusion begins?
Answer
Its initial mass
The initial mass accumulated during the collapse dictates everything about the star's future, including its luminosity, color, temperature, and total lifespan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What elements are stars primarily responsible for creating?What are the vast clouds of interstellar gas and dust where stars originate called?How does the density of a typical Giant Molecular Cloud compare to a vacuum on Earth?What initiates the gravitational collapse needed for star formation?How long does the gravitational collapse process typically take to fully condense massive gas fragments?What is the primary energy source causing a protostar to glow?What structure forms around a protostar from material that misses the central core?What approximate core temperature must be reached to ignite sustained hydrogen fusion?What state describes a star on the Main Sequence after fusion ignition?What happens to a fragment if its core temperature never reaches the threshold for sustained fusion?What is the single most crucial variable determining a star's subsequent characteristics after fusion begins?