The text describes the process of how a star, like our Sun, is formed. It begins with a molecular cloud, approximately five billion years ago, which contains all the atoms that make up the Sun and the rest of the Solar System. A shock wave from a nearby Supernova hits the cloud, causing some matter to compress and create a gravitational bond, leading to the start of the Sun's formation.
The Sun is mainly formed by hydrogen and helium atoms that begin to come together in a small sphere. As more matter accumulates, the pressure and temperature increase, causing the hydrogen atoms and helium to be ionized. This process generates an enormous amount of energy and causes pressure against gravitational collapse.
The Sun's core, now formed by helium nuclei and free electrons, begins to fuse helium into carbon in a process known as the triple Alpha. This process releases so much energy that it hides the outer layers of the Sun up to Earth's orbit. The Sun increases several times its size, swallowing almost all the rocky planets and their life.
At the end of this phase, the Sun has already lost half of its mass and helium begins to run out. The Sun no longer has enough mass to fuse elements heavier than helium. What remains is a white dwarf, a star already without fuel, held only by the degeneracy pressure of free electrons. This white dwarf is not capable of fusion and is simply admitting the remaining heat it has stored. Its temperature is much lower than the core of the Sun due to the residual energy of the Sun.
The main theory is that this white dwarf will slowly go out until it no longer imitates any star, becoming a black one that does not emit any light and will wander forgotten and dark through the universe until the end of time.
1. The text discusses the formation of the Sun and the rest of the Solar System.
2. All the molecules that make up the Sun and the Solar System were once spread out in a molecular cloud or Nebula.
3. The Sun and the rest of the Solar System were part of this Nebula and wandered through space aimlessly.
4. The Nebula was hit by a shock wave caused by a nearby Supernova, causing the matter in the cloud to compress and form a gravitational bond.
5. The Sun is primarily formed by hydrogen and helium atoms that come together in a small sphere.
6. As more matter accumulates in an increasingly smaller space, the pressure increases and with the increase in pressure, the temperature also increases.
7. The hydrogen atoms and Helium begin to undergo nuclear fusion, separating the negatively charged electrons from the atomic nucleus.
8. The Sun today is 40% brighter than it was at the beginning of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago and it will continue to get brighter for the next 5 billion years.
9. After the hydrogen in the Sun's core is used up, the Sun will collapse again, leading to a new stage of its life cycle.
10. During this collapse, the Sun's core will reach temperatures high enough to fuse Helium into carbon in a process known as triple Alpha fusion.
11. After the triple Alpha fusion, the Sun will expand significantly, its light will become reddish, and it will be known as a red giant.
12. After the red giant phase, the Sun will lose half of its mass and Helium will begin to run out.
13. The Sun will then become a white dwarf, a star without fuel held only by the degeneracy pressure of free electrons.
14. The white dwarf will continue to glow on the outside but will be dead on the inside, admitting the remaining heat it has stored.
15. After the white dwarf phase, the universe theory suggests that the Sun will slowly go out until it no longer emits any light and will wander forgotten and dark through the universe until the end of time.