How do stars die?

Stars go through a life cycle, and how they die depends on their mass. Here's a general overview of how stars die:

• Low-mass stars: When a low-mass star, like our Sun, runs out of hydrogen fuel in its core, it will start to burn helium. This causes the star to expand into a red giant. Eventually, the outer layers of the red giant will drift away, leaving behind a small, dense core called a white dwarf.
• Medium-mass stars: When a medium-mass star runs out of fuel, it will start to contract, causing the core to heat up and trigger helium fusion. This causes the outer layers of the star to expand, creating a red giant. When the star exhausts its helium, it will contract again, causing the core to heat up enough to ignite carbon fusion. This will cause the outer layers of the star to be blown away, leaving behind a small, dense core called a white dwarf.
• High-mass stars: When a high-mass star runs out of fuel, it will undergo a series of nuclear fusion reactions, creating heavier elements up to iron. Once the core of the star is made of iron, it will collapse under its own weight, causing a supernova explosion. The remaining core will either become a neutron star or a black hole.

So, the fate of a star depends on its mass. Low-mass stars end up as white dwarfs, medium-mass stars end up as white dwarfs or neutron stars, and high-mass stars end up as neutron stars or black holes.