
Imprecise. This description

 1. ignores the role of the ballast,
 2. misrepresents the heating effects in the starter.

The bimetalic strip cools down immediately after the contacts
short circuit, because the neon discharge stops, and much less
heat is generated from the I^2R loss in the metal as compared to
the neon discharge.

The starter contacts open before the tube fires.  Actually,
the tube fires as a result of the back-emf generated in the ballast
because of this immediate opening of the starter's contacts.

A capacitor is connected in parallel with the contacts to prevent
excessive arcing during the firing.  The neon reionizes but does not draw
sufficient current to prevent firing of the tube itself.