Why are there different sized stars? Once enough mass is gathered to commence fusion shouldn’t additional gasses be blown away from the star?
The gas clouds that stars form from collapse into a disc shape pretty early on in the formation process. The big-ish protostars blast most of their early heat of formation out in polar jets that never cross that disc, so the incoming matter doesn't meet the outflowing energy until the star is wel…
The Short Answer
The gas clouds that stars form from collapse into a disc shape pretty early on in the formation process. The big-ish protostars blast most of their early heat of formation out in polar jets that never cross that disc, so the incoming matter doesn't meet the outflowing energy until the star is well formed. It takes some time for heat from fusion in the core to make it to the surface so there's an additional brief lag period between when the star "ignites" and when the stellar wind finally stops the star from gathering any more gas. Supermassive stars are rare and their formation is not well understood. We're not sure if the real monsters formed through accretion like the others, are products of multi-star collisions, or some other exotic process.
Analysis
Key Concepts: Formation, star, stars
This explanation focuses on formation, star, stars and spans 131 words across 5 sentences. At 82% above the average Science explanation (72 words), this is one of the more thorough answers in this category, reflecting the complexity of the underlying question.
What This Answer Covers
The explanation opens with: “The gas clouds that stars form from collapse into a disc shape pretty early on in the formation process.” It then elaboratesultimately building toward a complete picture across 5 connected points.
How This Compares in Science
Ranked #54 of 500 Science questions by answer depth (top 12%). This places it in the comprehensive tier — the top quarter of most thoroughly answered questions. Questions at this depth typically involve multi-faceted topics requiring nuanced explanation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a simple explanation for why there different sized stars? once enough mass is gathered to commence fusion shouldn't additional gasses be blown away from the star?
The gas clouds that stars form from collapse into a disc shape pretty early on in the formation process. The big-ish protostars blast most of their early heat of formation out in polar jets that never cross that disc, so the incoming matter doesn't…
How detailed is this explanation compared to similar Science questions?
This is one of the most thorough answer at 131 words, ranked #54 of 500 Science questions by depth. The key concepts covered are formation, star, stars.
What approach does this answer take to explain there different sized stars? once enough mass is gathered to?
The explanation uses direct explanation across 131 words. It is categorized under Science and addresses the question through 1 analytical lens.