Stars Not Dancing With…

Essential Questions What is a celestial body? What is a star? What process powers a star? What is a light year? What is the lifecycle of a star/

Nuclear reactions occur in stars -Fusion What is a star? The Celestial Bodies that heat and light the planets in a system A star is a ball of plasma held together by its own gravity Nuclear reactions occur in stars -Fusion (H + H  He) Energy from the nuclear reactions is released as electromagnetic radiation, also known as light.

Characteristics of Stars DISTANCE Measured in light-years The distance which a ray of light would travel in one year About 6,000,000,000,000 (6 trillion) miles SPEED of LIGHT is 186,000 miles per second or 300,000 km per second

Characteristics of Stars Magnitude (brightness) A measure of brightness of celestial objects Smaller values represent brighter objects than larger values Apparent magnitude How bright a star appears to be from Earth due to distance Absolute magnitude – how bright a star actually is without regards to distance. Negative numbers are BRIGHTER

Luminosity is the total amount of energy emitted by a star, galaxy, or other astronomical object per unit time. Higher levels are positive and increasing numbers It is “related” to the brightness, which is the luminosity of an object in a given spectral region

Bottom Line… Just remember that absolute magnitude measure the same thing on different scales Absolute magnitude - the higher values are negative exponents. Inverse relationship. Luminosity has a positive correlation – the larger the number the greater the value.

Characteristics of Stars Temperature & Color The color of a star indicates the T of the star Stars are classified by T Decreasing T (bright to dim) O, B, A, F, G, K, M [Oh Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me ] http://www.seasky.org/cosmic/sky7a01.html

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram http://www.dustbunny.com/afk/stars/lifecycle/hrdiagram.gif

Main Sequence Stars A major grouping of stars that forms a narrow band from the upper left to the lower right when plotted according to luminosity and surface temperature on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

Types of Stars Classification Temperature Color O 20,000- 60,000 K Blue B 10,000 – 30,000 K Blue-white A 7,500 – 10,000 K White F 6,000 – 7,500 K Yellow-white G 5,000 – 6,000 K Yellow K 3,500 – 5,000 K Orange M 2,000 – 3,500 K Red

http://www.answers.com/topic/stellar-classification

Life Cycle of Stars http://hea-www.cfa.harvard.edu/CHAMP/EDUCATION/PUBLIC/ICONS/life_cycles.jpg

Life Cycle of Stars Begin their lives as clouds of dust and gas called nebulae Gravity may cause the nebula to contract Matter in the gas cloud will begin to condense into a dense region called a protostar The protostar continues to condense, it heats up. Eventually, it reaches a critical mass and nuclear fusion begins. Begins the main sequence phase of the star Most of its life is n this phase

Life Cycle of Stars Life span of a star depends on its size and mass. Very large, massive stars burn their fuel much faster than smaller stars Their main sequence may last only a few hundred thousand years Smaller stars will live on for billions of years because they burn their fuel much more slowly Eventually, ALL star's fuel will begin to run out.

Life Cycle of Stars It will expand into what is known as a red giant Massive stars will become red supergiants This phase will last until the star exhausts its remaining fuel At this point the star will collapse

Life Cycle of Stars Most average stars will blow away their outer atmospheres to form a planetary nebula Their cores will remain behind and burn as a white dwarf until they cool down What will be left is a dark ball of matter known as a black dwarf

Life Cycle of Stars If the star is massive enough, the collapse will trigger a violent explosion known as a supernova If the remaining mass of the star is about 1.4 times that of our Sun, the core is unable to support itself and it will collapse further to become a neutron star

Life Cycle of Stars The matter inside the star will be compressed so tightly that its atoms are compacted into a dense shell of neutrons. If the remaining mass of the star is more than about three times that of the Sun, it will collapse so completely that it will literally disappear from the universe. What is left behind is an intense region of gravity called a black hole

Life Cycle of Stars Miscarriage A Star is Born Birth: Dust & Gasses Brown Dwarf Not the right stuff to become a star Black Dwarf Miscarriage A Star is Born Birth: Dust & Gasses Main Sequence http://www.seasky.org/cosmic/sky7a01.html

How many named consellations are there in the sky? Hint: Number of keys on a piano? 88 How many can you see from any one spot on earth or any other planet in our solar system? Half…44 Because the planet blocks our view from the other half.

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