Red giant the end of the thermal pulsing phase. Among the asymptotic-giant-branch stars belong the carbon stars of type C-N and late C-R, produced when carbon and other elements are convected to the surface in what is called a dredge-up. The first dredge-up occurs during hydrogen shell burning on the red-giant branch, but does not produce a large carbon abundance at the surface. The second, and sometimes third, dredge up occurs during helium shell burning on the asymptotic-giant branch and convects carbon to the surface in sufficiently massive stars. The stellar limb of a red giant is not sharply defined, contrary to
Red giant to the planet when the giant expands out to the orbital distance of the planet. Many of the well known bright stars are red giants, because they are luminous and moderately common. The red giant branch variable star Gamma Crucis is the nearest M class giant star at 88 light years. The K0 red giant branch star Arcturus is 36 light years away. In about 5 to 6 billion years, the Sun will have depleted the hydrogen fuel in its core. It will shrink, with the hydrogen outside the core able to compress enough for hydrogen there to fuse, and