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Red Dwarfs Research Paper

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One day the universe will turn dark forever as the last star fizzles out and that star will most likely be a red dwarf. When a red dwarf star forms it possesses important properties that give it the potential to host rocky planets similar to Earth. Therefore the creation and resulting properties of red dwarfs form stars that can provide energy to planets which may one day be hospitable to life forms. First the process of formation of red dwarfs will be explained. Then, the properties of these stars will be examined. Finally, the importance of red dwarf stars’ existence will be considered.
Of all the stars in our universe, red dwarfs comprise up to seventy percent. “Scientists think that 20 out of the 30 stars nearest to Earth are red dwarfs; however, none of them can be seen with the naked eye. The closest star …show more content…

It all began with clouds of dust and gas. Within these clouds gravity caused matter to be drawn to the center and this newly formed mass started to spin. As it continued to rotate progressively faster and faster the temperature of the core rose until fusion occurred. This process happens with all main-sequence stars but what makes red dwarfs special is the way in which they fuse hydrogen and helium. Since red dwarfs fuse differently than all other stars they have distinctive properties that make them unique and important to study.
If the fusion of hydrogen into helium of red dwarfs’ was any less they would not be classified as a red dwarf at all. Instead, they would be brown dwarfs which are not stars since they cannot sustain hydrogen fusion. More massive stars accumulate hydrogen and helium in their cores while red dwarfs are convective. This means the helium and hydrogen are constantly mixing throughout the entire mass of the of a red dwarf

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