Supergiants

Supergiants are a classification of stars that have been categorized based on their large mass. However, those stars that have a large mass tend to burn much faster than others. This is why many types of stars can live for billions of years while a supergiant will not have as long of a lifespan. It is believed that the first real stars in space were supergiants. As more gases were collected there other types of stars were able to form and survive as well.

Supergiants don’t have any hydrogen found in their core, and this is what sets them apart from other types of stars. Some types of stars will use up their hydrogen and then change categories. They will then develop more than ten times their original mass. It is very difficult for that exact amount to be determined though.

Supergiants are easy to spot as they will have red in them. This is due to their large mass as well as to the fact that they burn so hot. Some of them may become so hot that they explode in space. Some experts theorize that the explosion of supergiants is what creates black holes that are found to exist in areas of outer space.

There has been plenty of work done to examine the supergiants from the inside out. They consist of several layers of materials. The outer layer is a protective shell and though it contains helium it isn’t actively doing anything. The next layer has helium that is fused with carbon. There will be several layers of this with a supergiant until you reach the core. The core consists of iron.

As the supergiant continues to burn at very hot temperatures, the outer layers will burn away. Once only the iron is left  the star has no way to make any more energy. Within a couple of weeks it will completely be burned out.

Supergiants are very complex types of stars that still need to be researched in more detail. They have an average lifespan of millions of years. This is far less than other stars though that last for billions of years. They are fascinating and very beautiful stars that burn very brightly in the sky.