what processes cause medium mass stars to produce nebula?

Answer 1

Star has to have enough mass to produce a supernova during it's "death" process, this explosion creates the giant cloud that is a nebula. However, if the star has too much mass immediately after the supernova the majority of the ejected material gets sucked back in by the immense gravity and you get little or no cloud, just a neutron star or similar dwarf dead star.

Answer 2

Medium-sized stars (our Sun, e.g.) are thought to leave behind planetary nebulae when they die.

When all the available hydrogen in the star's core is fused into helium, the star leaves the main sequence and becomes a red giant. This is because the fusion processes that follow core hydrogen fusion are hotter and more energetic.

The higher temperatures and increased energy output cause the star to swell to many times its original size. It also greatly increases the solar wind, causing the star to lose material at an accelerated rate. There may also be some cyclical events that cause the star to blow off large amounts of material in a short time.

At the end of the process, only the core of the star is left, surrounded by an expanding cloud of ejected material. The core, being very hot, produces enough ultraviolet energy to cause the surrounding cloud to fluoresce, and you have a planetary nebula.

Answer 3

First of all, stars are made of gases that originated in a nebula.The sun and all the planets originated from a nebula.So even if a medium star could create a nebula, it would be very small.

Answer 4

Nebula is basically a cloud of particles/dust and gas. Stars are formed from nebula.

Perhaps you're asking how can medium mass star become a nova (?).

Answer 5

Plenty of shows out there that can be watched...NOVA has excellent broadcast series that will help explain all your needs.
I love watching things like that - I'm sure you will too.
M