How do stars die, and what happens to them at the end of their lives?

Stars die in different ways depending on their mass. Smaller stars, like our sun, eventually run out of fuel, grow to be red giants, lose their outer layers, and develop a white dwarf, which has a small, dense core. On the other hand, more giant stars can explode in a supernova, releasing massive amounts of energy and dispersing heavy elements across the galaxy. Depending on the original star's mass, supernova remnants can be either neutron stars or black holes. Neutron stars are incredibly dense objects composed of tightly packed neutrons, whereas black holes are regions of space in which gravity is so strong that nothing can escape. As the explosion of a supernova can trigger the formation of new stars and shape the structure of galaxies, a star's death can significantly impact its surroundings