1 / 9

Chapter 30.1: Characteristics of Stars

Chapter 30.1: Characteristics of Stars . Star: ball of gas that gives off a tremendous amount of energy in the form of heat and light. Our own ‘ Sun’ is considered an average star!. Characteristics:. Starlight- light given off by stars. Composition- what elements make up the stars.

becca
Download Presentation

Chapter 30.1: Characteristics of Stars

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Chapter 30.1: Characteristics of Stars Star: ball of gas that gives off a tremendous amount of energy in the form of heat and light. Our own ‘Sun’ is considered an average star!

  2. Characteristics: • Starlight- light given off by stars. • Composition- what elements make up the stars. • Temperature- how hot; how cold? • Size & Mass- how big; how small? • Motion- actual motion vs. apparent. • Distance- how close; how far away? • Brightness- apparent vs. absolute magnitude.

  3. Starlight: -by analyzing the light stars emit, we can determine the star’s composition (elements present) and temperature.

  4. Composition: -Star composition is determined by analyzing the light being emitted. Equipment is called a spectrometer. -Since different elements absorb different wavelengths of light, elements can be determined. -Stars are made up of gas elements. (Hydrogen is the most common!)

  5. Temperature: -temperature is determined by the star’s color. -temp.’s range from 2,800 to 50,000 oC.

  6. Size & Mass: -Some dwarf stars are as small as the Earth. -Our sun is a medium size star (1,390,000 km). -Some stars are 1,000 times larger than our sun. -Density affects mass…no relationship between size and mass. Example: a star can be smaller than our sun, but have a greater mass…meaning it is more dense!

  7. Motion: 1. Actual motion- what we see with telescopes. 2. Apparent motion- This is motion visible to the unaided eye in a dark sky; due to movement of Earth. Stars have three actual motions: 1. rotate 2. revolve 3. move toward (blue shift) or away (red shift) from Earth

  8. Distance: -Light Year = 9.5x1012km; Distance that light travels in one year. Example: light from the sun takes 8 mins. to reach the Earth -Astronomical Unit (AU) - A unit of length used to measure distances in solar system. Example: Sun to Earth = 1 A.U.

  9. Brightness: a.ka. Stellar Magnitude -Absolute Magnitude: true brightness -Apparent Magnitude: brightness of a star as it appears to us on Earth. • Brightest stars have lowest numbers. (negative #’s) • Dimmest stars have highest numbers. (positive #’s)

More Related