6 lessons · Stellar structure and evolution
Stellar evolution from pressure to fuel
Gravity compresses a star, heat moves outward and nuclear reactions change the gas. Follow those connections from a pressure-supported sphere to saved main-sequence interiors and separately named helium-burning and white-dwarf cases.
One question at each step
1 · L1
Why a star with more fuel can live a shorter life
A heavier star has more hydrogen and a hotter, faster-burning core. Follow the pressure response and compare two saved stellar models.
2 · L1
How pressure holds up a star
Derive hydrostatic balance from a small gas column, solve a uniform-density sphere and compare the mechanical and thermal clocks.
3 · L2
How heat crosses a star
Follow radiative diffusion, derive the required temperature gradient and see when buoyant gas carries heat by convection.
4 · L3
Read a stellar track by following the fuel
Connect an HR track to its saved interior, integrate hydrogen use and compare distinct examples of helium burning and white-dwarf cooling.
5 · L3
Reproduce a saved MESA interior and its conditional age
Verify named MESA outputs, reproduce shell and wind checks, then infer a known synthetic star’s age with physical-time priors.
6 · L4
Where uncertainty enters a stellar evolution model
Read fixed primary papers on convective boundaries, winds and track interpolation, then test local and global energy claims with saved models.
Reproduce the saved models
The small package contains licensed native MESA outputs and independent Python. Run it offline with Python and NumPy; source attribution and separate model clocks are included.
- stellar-evolution-science.zip17.71 MB
- README-science.md0.01 MB
- include-manifest.json0.04 MB
- extended-member-manifest.json0.06 MB
- extended-reference-results.json0.05 MB
- app-reference-results.json0.02 MB
Exact bytes, hashes and licenses
stellar-evolution-science.zip
17713149 bytes
SHA-256 55b2bae2cca21a8ecb56461a922f62e07f7fe8217db4005abebe8c46455def36
README-science.md
10655 bytes
SHA-256 1b629f6b94b7c750927996fa8d4dfba6ebb6d668215c59c158f0abdb45477313
include-manifest.json
36365 bytes
SHA-256 d6ee560d65de4642b89fdfa8174f8dd565a34cd9120ae10122bd64bde0e0ee95
extended-member-manifest.json
63478 bytes
SHA-256 34f2072b76946fc580d8d6f416beaf3a759feca11b6391fab077b46fbafd9403
extended-reference-results.json
50847 bytes
SHA-256 b59b46b3e7b6daaf651cc9490051c7926c7ea83d9273b10eb24f77c8ac0660a4
app-reference-results.json
23179 bytes
SHA-256 32e6584facab015398a3d7685fd65745a23aac69b20e1b2cb70987ad0b9d50a9
Native atlas data: CC BY 4.0. Earlier convergence teaching outputs: CC BY-SA 4.0. The original Fortran extension retains LGPL 2-or-later; new standalone Python is MIT. Website Engine and app TypeScript are excluded.