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in partnership with the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust

 

Stellar Evolution

All stars form in nebulae, huge clouds of gas and dust.

Though they shine for thousands of years, stars do not last forever. The changes that occur in a star over time and the final stage of its life depends on a star's size.

Image
A diagram showing the stages in the life cycle of a star. "Creation" is at the top, also labelled "Stellar Nebula" along with a graphic of a pink swirly cloud. Two arrows point left and right with the label "Main Sequence". On the left is "High Mass Star", a blue circle, and arrows lead to the next stages which are "Red Supergiant", "Supernova", "Neutron Star" and "Black Hole". The right arrow leads to a "Low Mass Star", a yellow circle. Arrows then point to the next stages.
Credit
This work by The Schools' Observatory is licensed under All rights reserved

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

Early Life

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (known as Chandra) grew up in Lorhre, British India (now Pakistan). Chandra came from an academic family. His uncle was a physicist and Nobel Laureate and his mother loved learning. She encouraged young Chandra to be curious. His mother and father taught him at home until he was 12. Chandra got a BSc in physics in 1930 from Presidency College, Madras. He then won a scholarship to study for a postgraduate degree at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, UK. He received a PhD in 1933.

Year born: 1910

Research Areas: Stellar Evolution, Black Holes

 

"My motive has not been to solve a single problem, but to acquire a perspective of an entire area"