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The life of a star depends on the amount of hydrogen a star has left.

Simple answer the larger the star the shorter the life span for example: stars like our Sun can be expected to live 8-12 billion years a more massive star like Beetlegeuse can expect to live 100-400 million years and the most massive stars like S. Doradus and VY Canis Majoris can expect to live just a few million years. The larger the star the more fuel it consumes. Due to contrary belief not all stars burn hydrogen some stars burn helium others burn carbon some even burn oxygen this is all based off the core temperature the hotter the core the more elements it can burn

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13y ago
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13y ago

Its mass. The more massive a star is, the more quickly it will burn its fuel (hydrogen) due to larger core pressures. Stars with a smaller mass will burn its fuel slowly over much longer periods, such as the cooler red dwarf stars that can go on for billions of years.

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12y ago

The life span of a star depends primarily on its mass. This affects the life span in two possible ways. First, the amount of fuel the star has to burn obviously is proportional to its mass. Second, the mass affects the density and temperature at the center of the star which affect the types of reactions which occur and their rates.

However, other factors can come into play. For instance, if the star is orbiting another star, that star can pull matter away from it and shorten its life. Also, when the more massive star goes nova or super nova, it will impact the orbiting star.

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13y ago

The lifetime of a star depends on its MASS (not to be confused with size or weight since mass is a physical, consistent property). =-)

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8y ago

mass.

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Related questions

How long a star lives depends on its'?

The lifetime of a star depends on the amount of fuel a star has, and the rate at which it fuses it. This can better be described as it's mass and it's luminosity.


How long stars lives depends on its?

The lifetime of a star depends on the amount of fuel a star has, and the rate at which it fuses it. This can better be described as it's mass and it's luminosity.


How does a star's mass indicate lifetime?

When a star is at the end of its lifetime its mass increases.


How is the lifetime of a star comparable to stellar evolution?

Stellar evolution is the term for the changes a star undergoes during its lifetime.


A star's lifetime depends on what?

It depends on its size. Smaller stars- main-sequence, red giant, planetary nebula, white dwarf, black dwarf Bigger stars- main-squence, red giant, supernova, neutron star.


What is the range of years that are in a lifetime of a star?

It depends a lot on the mass of the star. It can be anywhere between a few million years (for the most massive stars), to tens of trillions of years (for red dwarves).


How does a stars mass indicate its lifetime?

When a star is at the end of its lifetime its mass increases.


What determines the path a star will take during its lifetime?

The mass of the star


How many years does a star lives?

It depends on the size. Small, dim stars live much, much longer than large, bright ones. The expected lifetime of a star like the Sun as a main-sequence star is about 10 billion years.


What is a star's main fuel during its lifetime?

hydrogen


How long does an massive star live?

The lifetime of a star varies a lot, depending on its exact mass. The lifetime of a star can be anywhere from just a few million years for the most massive stars, to trillions of years for red dwarves.


Is the main sequence lifetime of a low mass star the same as the lifetime of the sun?

No. The less massive a star, the longer it will last. A main sequence star half the mass of the sun can be expected to last about 5 times longer.