We have learned from studying the nature of the interior of stars that the lifetime of a star is closely related to its mass. By looking at many stars in our own galaxy, we find that the luminosity, or energy output, changes dramatically as the star gets more massive.

Thus, a 10 solar mass star, such as Rigel in the constellation of Orion, has a luminosity in excess of 40,000 times that of the Sun! Since it must burn its nuclear fuel much faster to keep up with their prodigious output, its lifetime is much shorter than that of the Sun.

Calculations show that such a 10 solar mass star (typical of the kind that leads to a supernova explosion) burns for about 30 million years before exhausting its nuclear fuel and exploding.

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