What initial mass range ($M_{\odot}$) qualifies a star to become a Red Supergiant?
Answer
Greater than 8 to 10 $M_{\odot}$
The transition to a red supergiant is strictly reserved for stars that begin their existence with a substantial amount of mass. Specifically, stars that start their lives exceeding eight to ten times the mass of the Sun are the candidates that undergo this massive late-life transformation. Stars falling into the lower range, approximately 0.5 to 8 solar masses, are destined to become regular red giants upon exhausting their core hydrogen, illustrating that initial mass is the critical differentiator for evolutionary track.
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