Giant star mass, when on the main sequence, was below approximately , it will never reach the central temperatures necessary to fuse helium. It will therefore remain a hydrogen-fusing red giant until it runs out of hydrogen, at which point it will become a helium white dwarf. According to stellar evolution theory, no star of such low mass can have evolved to that stage within the age of the Universe. In stars above about the core temperature eventually reaches 10 K and helium will begin to fuse to carbon and oxygen in the core by the triple-alpha process. When the core is
Gas giant Hot Jupiters are class IV or V. A cold hydrogen-rich gas giant more massive than Jupiter but less than about () will only be slightly larger in volume than Jupiter. For masses above , gravity will cause the planet to shrink (see degenerate matter). Kelvin–Helmholtz heating can cause a gas giant to radiate more energy than it receives from its host star. Although the words "gas" and "giant" are often combined, hydrogen planets need not be as large as the familiar gas giants from the Solar System. However, smaller gas planets and planets closer to their star will lose atmospheric