What catastrophic event terminates the life of a massive star?
Answer
Core-collapse supernova
The condensed life cycle of a massive star inevitably concludes with a violent core-collapse supernova when fusion pressure ceases.
Related Questions
What fundamentally determines the lifespan of a star?What is the typical minimum mass for a star to be classified as "high-mass"?What causes the fuel consumption paradox in massive stars?Which fusion cycle do high-mass stars primarily use for hydrogen burning?How is stellar luminosity generally related to stellar mass ($M$) according to the steep power law approximation?What is the approximate main-sequence lifetime for a star with $8 M_{\odot}$?What is the approximate main-sequence lifetime for a heavyweight star of $20 M_{\odot}$?Once core hydrogen is depleted in a massive star, how long might the silicon-burning phase last?What element's formation in the core signals the end of energy generation through fusion for a massive star?What catastrophic event terminates the life of a massive star?If the progenitor star was massive enough (often $>25 M_{\odot}$), what remnant may form after the supernova?Which fusion process is utilized by lower-mass stars like our Sun?