Simplified picture of the Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen
fusion cycle
University of Oregon
The Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen Fusion Cycle
When the temperature of the core of a star reaches about 16 million
kelvins
(that's REALLY hot!), the production of Helium occurs through another fusion cycle. This cycle is named the Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen (CNO) cycle. Here Carbon gets the cycle going, but it is not used up.
Watching the movie below may help you to visualize this process.
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