ExploraTour: A Peek into the Lives of the Stars
What Happens to High Mass Stars (> 8 solar masses)?
STAGE 1: Main Sequence
High mass stars enter the main sequence as hot white, blue-white or blue stars. Their lifetimes on the main sequence are much shorter than low mass stars. A 20-solar mass star will complete fusing hydrogen to helium in its core in 8 million years and move off the main sequence. The sun will take ten billion years to similarly deplete its hydrogen supply -- more than 1000 times longer than the high mass star.
Very big stars that were born when dinosaurs lived on Earth have already used up their fuel and exploded. The sun has been around since long before the dinosaurs and its still here today.