What is the primary difference between a star evolving into a Red Giant versus a Red Supergiant?
Answer
The initial mass of the progenitor star.
The classification of the star's late life stage—whether it becomes a regular red giant or the far larger red supergiant—is entirely dependent on the mass the star possessed when it first formed. Stars with lower initial masses (around 0.5 to 8 $M_{\odot}$) follow the red giant path, resulting in a modest expansion. In contrast, the much more massive progenitors (greater than 8 to 10 $M_{\odot}$) undergo a catastrophic scale of expansion, resulting in the red supergiant classification, highlighting mass as the key determinant of evolutionary scale.
Related Questions
What initial mass range ($M_{\odot}$) qualifies a star to become a Red Supergiant?What fusion event triggers the expansion phase away from the main sequence for massive stars?What causes the surface cooling responsible for imparting the 'red' color to a red supergiant?What is the typical surface temperature range for a red supergiant on the H-R diagram?How long does the transient existence of a red supergiant phase typically last relative to its main sequence lifetime?Which elements are fused in the successive, nested shells surrounding the core of a very massive red supergiant?What final element forms in the core that causes the star to instantly lose its primary energy source?If a progenitor star was among the most massive (exceeding 20 to 25 solar masses), what remnant forms after the supernova explosion?What is the primary difference between a star evolving into a Red Giant versus a Red Supergiant?How does the energy output from shell hydrogen fusion compare to the star's previous core fusion rate?