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Very High-mass Star

Stars are born, live out their lives, and die. Their appearance changes dramatically along the way. The Sun will age to become a red giant star like Arcturus. Betelgeuse will eventually resemble the Crab Nebula, exploding as a supernova and leaving behind a neutron star remnant. The fate of the supergiant star Rigel is that of a black hole like Cygnus X-1. The wide variety of stars we see represents the different stages in their lives.