Supergiant

From Obsidian Fleet Database

A supergiant star is one which is nearing the end of it's lifespan. It has consumed much of it's hydrogen fuel and is beginning to consume other elements such as carbon or helium. During the supergiant stage, a star's surface expands many times larger then it's original circumference, often between 50-1000 times it's original size.

The increased area spreads out the available hydrogen left to the star, thus lowering the core temperature of the supergiant star. This in turn reduces the color frequencies of the star, often causing supergiant stars to appear as blue, yellow or red in color. However, during this stage, a star is most luminous.

Because of their massive sizes and their lowered hydrogen-to-mass ratio, supergiant stars have a shorter lifespan then other, younger stars.

Supergiant stars are presumed to be a prelude stage to supernovae.