* Higher Fusion Rates: More massive stars have stronger gravity, squeezing their cores to higher temperatures and densities. This leads to much faster nuclear fusion rates, burning through their hydrogen fuel at an accelerated pace.
* Shorter Lifespans: Because they burn fuel so quickly, massive stars have much shorter lifespans. While our Sun is expected to live for about 10 billion years, a star 10 times more massive than the Sun might only last a few million years.
To put it simply, the more massive a star is, the faster it lives and dies.
Here's a quick breakdown:
* Massive Stars: Burn through fuel quickly, evolve through their life stages rapidly, and end their lives in spectacular supernova explosions.
* Low-Mass Stars: Burn fuel slowly, live for billions or even trillions of years, and eventually fade out as white dwarfs.
This means that a star with 20 solar masses would evolve the fastest, while a star with 0.5 solar masses would evolve the slowest.
