• Question: how big can a star be

    Asked by Bubble789 to Peter on 13 Nov 2016. This question was also asked by k3ennab.
    • Photo: Peter Boorman

      Peter Boorman answered on 13 Nov 2016:

      Hi Bubble789,

      Fascinating question! Some of the brightest (and usually biggest) stars are known as ‘O-type’ stars. However, one type of star that is known to have a mass limit are ‘white dwarf’ stars. These cannot be heavier than a mass known as the ‘Chandrasekhar mass’. This is because at masses higher than this, the atoms in the star can’t hold the star together because the extremely high pressures involved. This means that when the mass is higher, the star will collapse further down into a more dense object, such as a neutron star or black hole!

      Peter

Comments