These stars undergo thermal pulsations culminating in the shedding of a planetary nebula, leaving behind a white dwarf remnant.
Hot-bottomed convective envelopes in these objects may be the sites of the Cameron-Fowler mechanism of lithium production, and their outer layers generate heavier elements through s-process nucleosynthesis. These objects form a namesake "bump" on H-R diagrams that corresponds to their mean molecular weight discontinuity being reached by shell burning. The less massive examples of these stars undergo a helium flash, and when they exhaust core helium they ascend their namesake asymptotic branch. These stars undergo thermal pulsations culminating in the shedding of a planetary nebula, leaving behind a white dwarf remnant. For 10 points, name this next stage in the evolution of the Sun, when it will swell up past Earth's current orbit and cool down from its current yellow-green color.
Hot-bottomed convective envelopes in these objects may be the sites of the Cameron-Fowler mechanism of lithium production, and their outer layers generate heavier elements through s-process nucleosynthesis.
red giants [accept red supergiants until "helium flash"; prompt on "giant (stars)"]