Red-giant branch through several distinct stages which are reflected in the outward appearance. The evolutionary stages vary depending primarily on the mass of the star, but also on its metallicity. After a main-sequence star has exhausted its core hydrogen, it begins to fuse hydrogen in a thick shell around a core consisting largely of helium. The mass of the helium core is below the Schönberg–Chandrasekhar limit and is in thermal equilibrium, and the star is a subgiant. Any additional energy production from the shell fusion is consumed in inflating the envelope and the star cools but does not increase in luminosity. Shell
Red giant system, if present, uninhabitable, some research suggests that, during the evolution of a star along the red-giant branch, it could harbor a habitable zone for several times 10 years at 2 AU out to around 10 years at 9 AU out, giving perhaps enough time for life to develop on a suitable world. After the red-giant stage, there would for such a star be a habitable zone between 7 and 22 AU for an additional 10 years. Later studies have refined this scenario, showing how for a star the habitable zone lasts from 10 years for a planet with an