What is the minimum mass threshold for a star to be considered massive?
Answer
More than eight times the mass of the Sun
A star is generally categorized as massive if its initial mass upon formation exceeds approximately eight times the mass of the Sun. This specific threshold is crucial because stars crossing it face a fundamentally different and far more dramatic end stage compared to smaller stars like our Sun. Stars reaching this mass begin burning fuel quickly and experience intense core pressures, leading them down a path that results in gravitational collapse upon fuel exhaustion, potentially forming a neutron star or a black hole, rather than fading gently.
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