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Red giant

The red giant star - Aldebaran.

As medium sized stars exhaust their hydrogen content, they expand up to 100 times their original size to become red giants. The nuclear fusion reactions occurring within a red giant are H→ He and He→ C. Our Sun will follow this path over the next 5 billion years. This red giant is Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus.

Acknowledgement: NASA

Rights: NASA
Published:17 September 2009Size: 13.39 KB