B Will Big Stars Turn Into Red Supergiants or Red Giants?

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Big stars are expected to evolve into red supergiants without necessarily passing through a red giant phase. The discussion highlights the complexity of stellar evolution, emphasizing that definitions of star sizes can vary, complicating the classification of stars as "big" or "medium." The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is referenced but criticized for not providing historical context or mass information about stars. Participants in the discussion seek clearer explanations and more informative resources on stellar evolution. Overall, the conversation underscores the nuances in understanding how different sized stars evolve over time.
Odette
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Hey.
Medium sized stars will turn into red giants.
What about big sized stars? As far as I know they will turn into red SUPERgiants. But, will they pass through a red giant phase before it happens?
In conclusion, will a big star turn firstly into a red giant and secondly into a red supergiant, or will it turn only into a red supergiant?
 
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There are whole books on this. They tend to be more quantitative than just "big" and "medium". Also, they and you probably disagree on how big is "medium" - the most common kind of star, red dwarfs, don't always become red giants, and the threshold is right about at the average star mass.
 
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jim mcnamara said:
Look at this diagram, it shows how stars evolve over time, depending on the "starting" mass of the star
http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/H/Hertzsprung-Russell+Diagram
No, it does not.
It shows only the present appearance of star, aand gives no information of its history, or mass.
Some versions of this graph add paths to depict star history - but no such are added to the version in the link above.
 
@snorkack
Does the explanation not help? Please post what you think is more explanatory. That would be by far more useful to everyone ...than debating what I linked to. Thanks in advance for for your help.
 

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