helium flash

British  

noun

1. astronomy the explosive burning of helium in the case of a star of low mass that occurs when the core is so dense that the matter has become degenerate. The burning causes a rapid rise in temperature until it is so high that the gas ceases to be degenerate, after which there is a rapid expansion

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Example Sentences

Astronomers estimate that by the time a star like the Sun reaches the point of the helium flash, for example, it will have lost as much as 25% of its mass.

From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016

The rapid onset of helium fusion in the core of a low-mass star is called the helium flash.

From Textbooks • Oct. 13, 2016