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Stellar mass loss

Stellar wind from a star cluster, Westerlund 2 pushes away surrounding gas and dust, creating shock wavesthat serve as the birthplace for new young stars. Image by the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3.

Stellar mass loss is a phenomenon observed in stars by which stars lose some mass over their lives. Mass loss can be caused by triggering events that cause the sudden ejection of a large portion of the star's mass. It can also occur when a star gradually loses material to a binary companion or due to strong stellar winds. Massive stars are particularly susceptible to losing mass in the later stages of evolution. The amount and rate of mass loss varies widely based on numerous factors.

Stellar mass loss plays a very important role in stellar evolution, the composition of the interstellar medium, nucleosynthesis as well as understanding the populations of stars in clusters and galaxies.

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