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Because it gets changed into helium by fusion.

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13y ago

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What will happen to the relative amounts of hydrogen and helium in the sun over the next few billion years?

Over the next few billion years, the hydrogen content in the sun will decrease as it fuses into helium through nuclear fusion. This process will cause the relative amount of helium to increase in the sun over time.


Why is the presence of large amount of helium in the spectrum of a star considered to be a sign of age?

Stars fuse hydrogen into helium, and then fuse the helium into carbon. For a star to have more than about 50% helium, we know that the star has already burned up half of its natural fuel, and that the end is near.


How much hydrogen does a red giant phase have?

During the red giant phase, a star has typically exhausted the hydrogen in its core, leading to hydrogen fusion occurring in a shell surrounding the inert helium core. The outer layers of the star may still contain some hydrogen, but the core hinders further hydrogen fusion. The amount of hydrogen present varies depending on the star's mass and its evolutionary history, but it is significantly less than during the main sequence phase.


What makes a fusion stop in the main sequence stage?

A fusion reactor stops in the main sequence stage when it runs out of hydrogen fuel at its core. As hydrogen is depleted, the fusion rate decreases, resulting in a decrease in energy production. At this point, the star will begin to expand and evolve into a different stage of its lifecycle.


What element is fused in the core of a star?

In the core of a star, hydrogen is primarily fused into helium through the process of nuclear fusion. This fusion releases a tremendous amount of energy, which powers the star and generates heat and light. As the star evolves and exhausts its hydrogen fuel, it may begin fusing heavier elements, such as helium into carbon, in later stages of its lifecycle.

Related Questions

Why does the amount of hydrogen in a star decrease?

The amount of hydrogen in a star decreases over time because hydrogen fuses into helium through nuclear reactions in the star's core, releasing energy in the process. As the star continues burning hydrogen, it eventually exhausts its hydrogen fuel supply, leading to changes in its structure and behavior.


What will happen to the relative amounts of hydrogen and helium in the sun over the next few billion years?

Over the next few billion years, the hydrogen content in the sun will decrease as it fuses into helium through nuclear fusion. This process will cause the relative amount of helium to increase in the sun over time.


The stars in the sky depend on what?

the amount of hydrogen left in their core. when the hydrogen starts to run out, the star will enlarge to a red giant due to the decrease of gravity pulling its surface in towards the core, and then the star will eat itself and become a white dwarf before eventually turning into a black dwarf (i think its called) and becoming virtually nothing.


What is in a star's core?

A star's core consists mostly of hydrogen. As the star ages, the amount of helium, carbon and other elements in the core increases as they are the result "ash" resulting from the consumption of the hydrogen fuel.


Why does a star's hydrogen supply run out?

A star's hydrogen supply runs out because of nuclear fusion in its core. As hydrogen is fused into heavier elements like helium, the star's core temperature increases, causing it to expand and cool. Eventually, the core runs out of hydrogen to fuse, leading to the star's evolution into a different phase.


Why is the presence of large amount of helium in the spectrum of a star considered to be a sign of age?

Stars fuse hydrogen into helium, and then fuse the helium into carbon. For a star to have more than about 50% helium, we know that the star has already burned up half of its natural fuel, and that the end is near.


Why are there planets?

Planet exist because the amount of matter is not large enough or not made of superheated hydrogen to become a star.


What causes the sun to burn?

hydrogen is at the heart of a star, meaning that as it reacts it produces a massive amount of heat and light


what causes the sun burn?

hydrogen is at the heart of a star, meaning that as it reacts it produces a massive amount of heat and light


A star the size of your Sun continues its fusion for approximately 10 billion years until the supply of hydrogen runs out The amount of hydrogen required to keep up that process indicates that?

Hydrogen is extreamly abundant.


What determines how large a star a star will become?

Initially it is a question of how much material was present in the disk that collapsed to form the star. Subsequently, it may be affected by collisions with nearby stars.


Why is an old main -sequence star have a higher percentage helium then a young main - sequence star?

Most stars - and specifically main-sequence stars - get their energy from converting hydrogen-1 to helium-4, so you would expect that the percentage of hydrogen will decrease over time, while the percentage of helium would increase over time. Please note that the rate of fusion depends a LOT on the mass of the star; so you might have a very massive star that's only a few million years old and has already burned up most of its fuel (hydrogen), and another star, a red dwarf, that's 10 billion years old and has only used a small percentage of its fuel.