The image above is the most child friendly image I could find that explains how stars go the routes they go.

Notice line 1: A protostar tries to start up.... but it can't. A protostar must have at a bare minimum the mass of 13 JUPITERS or it can not "flame on". If it has less, it can not become a traditional star. Instead it fizzles into a brown dwarf which is neither a real star nor a real planet. It will stay like this its entire lifetime.

Line 2: If its mass is barely over 13 Jupiters it will become a cute little red dwarf. When a red dwarf fizzles out though it only turns into a white dwarf and then a black dwarf eventually.

White Dwarf is the eventual end of smaller mass objects... once you hit the "blue range" or higher mass objects thats when things turn into either neutron stars/pulsars/or black holes.

The BIGGER a star is the more mass it is, the BRIGHTER it shines in the night sky... but the COOLER the temperature is.

The SMALLER a star is, the less mass, shines not as bright in the night sky but the HOTTER the temperature is.

Next up

Previous

The Life Cycle of Stars