What type of object will the Sun leave behind once it finished dying?

I know the answer is white dwarf, but what will its mass be like? big or small?

What types of objects will high-mass stars leave behind once they finish dying?

I want to say neutron stars, but what size, mass, and luminosity will they be?

If astronomers could detect and count up all of these types of objects what type would be the most numerous and why?

Most stars become white dwarfs that will continue to cool down and emit less light. Only the most massive stars become neutron stars. They are a small minority. They have a mass more than 1.4 times that of our sun.

If I remember correctly, stars that become neutron stars lose a lot of mass in a supernova explosion. Stars that become white dwarfs do not lose more than a few percent of their mass during their entire life. Most of the mass loss goes into producing power by nuclear fusion. The number of nucleons (protons and neutrons) in a white dwarf remains about the same.

To determine the type and properties of stellar remnants, we need to understand the processes of stellar evolution. Let's break down each question and explain how to find the answers:

1. What type of object will the Sun leave behind once it finishes dying?
To determine the type of object the Sun will become, we need to know its mass. The Sun is a relatively low-mass star, which means it will eventually exhaust its nuclear fuel and evolve into a white dwarf. When a low-mass star like the Sun expands into a red giant during its later stages, it sheds its outer layers, leaving behind a small, dense core composed of electron-degenerate matter, known as a white dwarf.

2. What will the mass be like for a white dwarf?
The mass of a white dwarf is comparable to that of the original star. The Sun has a mass of about 1.989 x 10^30 kilograms, and its white dwarf remnant will have a similar mass.

3. What types of objects will high-mass stars leave behind once they finish dying?
High-mass stars follow a different evolutionary path compared to low-mass stars like the Sun. They undergo a supernova explosion, resulting in the formation of either a neutron star or a black hole, depending on their mass.

4. What are the size, mass, and luminosity of neutron stars?
Neutron stars are incredibly dense, with a typical mass ranging from about 1.4 to 3 times the mass of the Sun. Despite their high mass, they are only about 20 kilometers in diameter. Neutron stars emit radiation, including X-rays and gamma rays, and can be quite luminous.

5. Which type of object would be the most numerous if astronomers could detect and count them all, and why?
White dwarfs would be the most numerous type of stellar remnants. This is because low-mass stars, like the Sun, are more common than high-mass stars. High-mass stars are rarer but produce more spectacular events, such as supernovae, which are easier to detect. So, if all stellar remnants were counted, the more common low-mass stars would contribute to a higher number of white dwarf remnants.