micro10 - True - but it is quite complex.<br /><br />For example, stars of up to 1.4 solar masses ends up as a white dwarf rather than a supernova. However, a more massive star may avoid supernova by blowing off planetary nebulae of sufficient mass to avoid supernova.<br /><br />It is, of course, similar for the mass limit before a star becomes a black hole.<br /><br />Thus one source ["The World of Science," 1991, volume 8,. p. 32] has a wide variation for this limit: between 2 and 5 solar masses!<br />