The Death of Polaris
There are two possible ways that Polaris [Alpha Ursae Minoris] could die. It is most likely, for the star to run out of fuel [in about five million years], and it will spontaneously implode, creating a supernova. If this were to happen, the supernova would be pretty spectacular. The explosion and remaining particles would take up most of the northern sky. After a while, the remaining core of Polaris would contract and probably become a neutron star. This will only happen when Polaris runs out of fuel, helium, and then go on to run mainly on iron. When this happens, the yellow supergiant will then keep expanding and implode. It would keep going like this, expanding, until it creates a supernova. Next, it sheds its shell, and then becomes a white dwarf. It will be one dense mass of what it once was and then become one big atomic nucleus of iron.
|