Beyond the Stars

What Is This Module About?

Have you tried looking at the sky on a starry night? Do it and you will find out that it is a
wonderful experience! But don’t you think it will be all the more fascinating if you know more
about the stars and the sky? This module is a continuation of the module on the solar system. Be
sure you have read it before reading this module.
This module will discuss a bigger group—the stars, the galaxies and the universe. It is made
up of two lessons:
Lesson 1 — Twinkling Stars
Lesson 2 — An Expanding Universe?

What Will You Learn From This Module?

After studying this module, you should be able to:

♦ identify the different properties and kinds of stars;
♦ describe the types of star clusters;
♦ describe the Milky Way, the other galaxies and the universe; and
♦ identify major developments in the field of space exploration.

Let’s See What You Already Know

Before you start studying this module, take this simple test first to find out how much you
already know about its topics.
A. Identify the properties of stars being referred to in the following numbers. Write the
words in the blanks before the numbers.
___________________ 1. Can be determined based on luminosity and temperature

___________________ 2. Two properties of stars that are interrelated

___________________ 3. The ability of stars to move over long periods of time

___________________ 4. Determine the elements present in a star

___________________ 5. Can be measured in terms of light years

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 B. Read the following phrases. Classify them according to what they describe using the
table below.
1. thought to be just one dense, very hot, massive ball
2. a spiral galaxy that is around 100000 light years long and 10000 light years
thick at the nucleus
3. formed some 20 billion years ago when a cataclysmic explosion occurred
4. come in different shapes—elliptical, spiral or irregular
5. has our solar system as a part of it
6. groups of millions to hundreds of billions of stars
7. believed to be expanding because of the red shift
8. examples of these include the Magellanic Cloud and the Great Galaxy
in Andromeda
9. the big bang marked its birth when matter and space were created
instantaneously
10. has around 100000 million stars

Milky Way Other Galaxies Universe

C. Identify two projects that contributed to the development in the field of space
exploration.
1. _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Well, how was it? Do you think you fared well? Compare your answers with those in the
Answer Key on page 32 to find out.
If all your answers are correct, very good! You may still study the module to review what
you already know. Who knows, you might learn a few more new things as well.
If you got a low score, don’t feel bad. This only means that this module is for you. It will
help you understand some important concepts that you can apply in your daily life. If you study
this module carefully, you will learn the answers to all the items in the test and a lot more! Are you
ready?
You may go now to the next page to begin Lesson 1.

2
 LESSON 1

Twinkling Stars
0 MAY
APR 23 1
IL 31 0
4
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22 A
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3
A

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CASSIOPEIA
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19

PAR

5
ζ
ε
ella
β
FEBUARY 18

Cop
ELO
80
δ

α
CAM
α Polaris

AURIGA
β
ξ
γ

6
AUGUST
DRAC

URSA MINOR
ζ
β

β
17 JANU

7
M8 0
NX

κ
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α
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NOVEMBER
12 OCT –1 0 1 2 3 4 5
MAGNITUDE

On a starry night, you might see the Big Dipper. Can you also see the Little Dipper? Look at
the figure above showing the stars in the Northern Hemisphere. It shows some of the
constellations or star clusters named after some animals, objects and people in Greek mythology.
There are about 88 known constellations in the Northern and the Southern hemispheres.

3
 Let’s Try This

Do you notice how stars differ in brightness? Tear off page 3 of the module. Using a needle,
prick every dot you see in the diagram. Make sure the holes you make are as big as the dots in
the diagram themselves. Then look at the chart against a bright light. Afterward, answer the
questions that follow.
1. If you are in a place located above the equator, for how many months can you use this
star chart?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. If you set the part of the chart marked 0 (between the months of May and April)
toward the north, what constellations will you see on the eastern (right) part of the
chart? western (left) part of the chart?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
3. In what constellation can you find the Little Dipper? the Big Dipper? How many stars
are there in each?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
4. Do the appearence of constellations in the sky change from time to time? Why/Why
not?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Compare your answers with those in the Answer Key on page 32. How well did you do?
You have just learned what a constellation is. A constellation is a small cluster of stars. In a
previous module, you learned about our solar system. The solar system forms a small portion of a
bigger cluster of stars—the Milky Way. The Milky Way is a galaxy. A galaxy is a group of
millions to hundreds of billions of stars. The Milky Way is one of the many galaxies found in our
universe. Would you like to know more about stars, galaxies and the universe?

4
 Let’s Learn
It is difficult to say when and where the study of stars and planets began. Did ancient people
living in England use the Stonehenge for studying stars and planets? What do you think?

The Stonehenge

The Stonehenge was first thought to be an ancient observatory. Every June 21 and 22, when
the earth experiences 12 hours of daytime and 12 hours nighttime, the sun can be seen rising
above the heel stone of the Stonehenge. This led the people to believe that the Stonehenge may
have been used for predicting eclipses as well.
Early Chinese and some natives in Central America left artifacts or drawings that showed
their interest in stars. As early as 1054, the Chinese recorded a brilliance seen in the sky. The
Greeks studied the stars and planets more systematically. They began asking anything and
everything about them. Some of the Greek scholars who studied the stars and planets include
Miletus, Galileo, Pythagoras, Aristotle, Aristarchus, Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Ptolemy and many
others.

Properties of Stars
The properties of stars include magnitude, color and temperature, composition, proper
motion, radial velocity, size and stellar distance. These will be explained in detail shortly.

Magnitude
Ptolemy wrote Almagest (13 volumes on astronomy prepared around 150 A.D.). He
assigned the numbers 1 to 6 for the magnitude or brightness (not size) of a star. The brightest star
was assigned first magnitude; the dimmest, sixth magnitude.

5
 0 MAY
APR 23 1
IL 40
M31
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DROM NE
AM JU
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2
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3
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4
CASSIOPEIA
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19

PAR

5
ζ
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ella
β
FEBUARY 18

Cop
ELO
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δ

α
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α Polaris

AURIGA
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β
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6
AUGUST
DRAC

URSA MINOR
ζ
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17 JANU

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URSA MAJOR

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10
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NOVEMBER
12 O –1 0 1 2 3 4 5
MAGNITUDE
Can you locate the Big Dipper?
Later, scientists realized that classifying stars by their apparent brightness cannot truly
indicate their true brightness. The amount of light stars give off or their luminosity is actually a
better indicator. Some stars may look dim because they are so far away. Some may look bright
because they are near the earth. Thus, present-day astronomers have devised a scale that tells us
just how bright a star really is. This brightness scale tells a star’s absolute magnitude.

Color and Temperature

In calculating a star’s magnitude, astronomers discovered that there was an interrelationship

between its color and temperature. They found out that a star’s color depends on its temperature.
Are red stars cooler than yellow stars? The hottest stars are the blue-white ones. Can you guess
what color our sun is? If you guessed that our sun is a yellow-white star, you are right!

6
 Color Temperature

Blue-white 50000°C
Blue 20000°C
White 10000°C
Yellow 6000°C
Orange 5000°C
Red 3000°C

Let’s Try This

1. On a sunny day, turn your back against the sun.

2. Turn on the water hose until you get a fine sprinkle of water.
3. Wait for a while until you see a rainbow.
How can you explain this? Turn to the Answer Key on page 32 to check your answer.

Let’s Learn

Let us continue with our study of the different properties of stars.

Composition

What you have done is a simple experiment on producing light using drops of water.
Astronomers have an instrument called spectroscope that works in a similar way. Inside the
spectroscope is a prism. The light from a star passes through the prism and separates into various
colors like what happens when light passes through water droplets.

Small Spectrum
telescope
Lens
Prism

Light

In a spectroscope, light passes through a prism and is broken into a band of colors called a
spectrum.
7
 The lines in the spectrum starlight forms can tell us what elements are found in that particular
star. Scientists compare these lines with a standard to determine the elements in the star being
studied. Some stars use hydrogen or helium as fuel. When an element burns, another element
forms. As the star grows older, its composition and temperature at the surface changes and its
brightness decreases.

No, our sun is a

middle-aged star.

Is our sun
an old star?

Proper Motion
In 1718, when Halley was studying the early Greek star charts, he noticed that some of the
bright stars moved. At that time, it was unbelievable because they thought all the while that stars
did not move. Now we know that stars do move slightly over long periods of time. This
phenomenon can be explained by the proper motion of stars. Some stars show proper motion in
a year’s time while others may show proper motion in 100 years. These changes are detected
through astrophotography wherein pictures of stars are taken at different time intervals.

Radial Velocity
Radial velocity is a type of motion that shows whether a star is moving away from or
toward the earth. It can be based on a star’s light. Scientists use the term “shift toward the red” if
a star is moving away from or “shift toward the blue” if it is coming toward the earth. Christian
Doppler explained this phenomenon now known as the Doppler effect.
As a star moves farther away from the earth, its wavelength becomes longer (red). As it
moves closer, its wavelength becomes shorter (blue or violet). To understand the Doppler effect,
look closely at the illustration on the next page.

8
 The Doppler effect illustrates the apparent lengthening and shortening of
wavelengths caused by the relative motion between a source and an observer.

How does an ambulance

approaching you sound? High-pitched.
How about one that is moving Low-pitched.
away from you?

Size
The sizes of large stars may be determined using a process called interferometry. A
technique called speckle photography obtains an image of the surface of a big star. This image
is then fed into a computer together with several others to form a single big picture. Using these
methods, scientists found out that Betelgeuse (in Orion) has a diameter 500 times bigger than that
of our sun and that Auriga b, 2000 times the diameter of our sun.
If a star is small, its luminosity and temperature may be used to determine its size. Its
diameter can be calculated using the Stefan-Boltzmann law which states that the hotter a star,
the more heat and light it gives off per unit area. What is the relation between the heat a star gives
off to its area?

Stellar Distance
Astronomers generally express the distances between stars in light years. A light year (ly)
represents the distance light travels in a year’s time. Note that the speed of light is approximately
300000 km/s. Can you compute how many kilometers light travels in a year?

9
 Compare your computation with the one below.
300000 km/s × 60 s/min × 60 min/hr × 24 hr/day × 365 days/year = 9460800000000 km/
year.
Did you get the same answer? If you did, very good!

Let’s Review

Identify what property of stars each statement refers to. Write your answer in the blank
before each number.
_______________ 1. Refers to the brightness of a star
_______________ 2. Determined by a star’s temperature
_______________ 3. Tells what elements make up a particular star
_______________ 4. Tells why a star moves very slowly over long periods of time
_______________ 5. Tells whether a star is approaching or going away from the
earth
_______________ 6. Determined based on a star’s luminosity and temperature
_______________ 7. Measured in light years
Compare your answers with those in the Answer Key on pages 32 and 33. How well did
you do?

Let’s Learn

Kinds of Stars
When looking at stars, do you sometimes wonder how come they twinkle and are so high
up in the sky? Read the legend below.
Once upon a time, the sky was very much lower than it is now. It was rather dark most of
the time. One day, a pretty maiden wanted to pound palay. She had a pearl necklace, a pair of
pearl earrings, a pearl ring and a bejeweled comb. She hung these pieces of jewelry on the sky.
She began to pound the palay using a mortar and pestle. Unfortunately, the pestle was long and it
kept on hitting the sky. The sky became angry. It went further up and up till it became so high.
The pretty maiden tried to reach for her jewelry but the sky was already very high. She saw that
her pearl necklace was broken and the pearls were scattered in the sky. Every night they shine.
The pearls from her necklace, earrings and ring became stars and her bejeweled comb, the
moon.

10
 Let’s Review

Based on the legend, answer the

following questions.
1. Can you say that the early
Filipinos showed interest in the
stars and the heavenly bodies?
__________________________
__________________________
2. According to the legend, where
did the stars come from?
__________________________
__________________________
3. Where did the moon come from?
__________________________
__________________________
Consult the legend on the previous page to check your answers.

Let’s Learn

Of course, the legend you just read isn’t true.

Scientists have been studying the stars with the aid of various modern equipment for a very
long time now. They have, in fact, gathered much information regarding them. They have identified
many kinds of stars including the following:
♦ variable stars;
♦ binary stars;
♦ novae and supernovae;
♦ dwarfs;
♦ neutron stars;
♦ pulsars; and
♦ black holes.
Let us study them in detail on the following pages.

11
Variable Stars
Variable stars are stars that become brighter or dimmer at regular intervals of time. Polaris
is an example of a variable star.

Polaris

Binary Stars
Binary stars are pairs of stars that share and orbit around the same center of mass and are
held together by gravitational attraction. They are also called double stars. An example of binary
stars are the Proxima Centauri and the Alpha Centauri.

Proxima Centauri Alpha Centauri

Novae
A nova is a star that suddenly flares into brightness and then normally fades again.

Nova stella

12
Supernovae
A supernova refers to a vast stellar explosion which takes a few days to complete making
the star temporarily millions of times brighter that it originally was. The supernova explosion that
created the Crab Nebula, for example, was seen on about July 4, 1054 A.D. It was recorded by
Chinese astronomers and perhaps others.

Crab Nebula
Dwarfs
There are many kinds of dwarf stars distinguished by color. A brown dwarf, for example, is
a failed star. It is heavier than a gas-giant planet but not quite massive enough to be a star.
A red dwarf is a star with less than half the sun’s mass. White dwarfs are the corpses of
moderately-massive stars and are smaller, hotter and much heavier than brown dwarfs.

Neutron Stars
Stars that have a lot of mass may end their lives as black holes or neutron stars. Neutron
stars are stars of very small sizes and very great densities which have almost reached the end of
their evolutionary lives. They are fantastic objects—just a few kilometers in diameter with the
mass of the sun and very rapidly rotating.

Pulsars
Pulsars are neutron stars that remain from the original stars. An example of this can be seen
in the center of the Crab Nebula.

13
Black Holes
As we said earlier, stars that have a lot of mass may end their lives as either black holes or
neutron stars. A black hole is a very massive star core, a remnant of a supernova explosion, that
can exert such a tremendous gravitational force that not only solid objects but also atoms cannot
escape from its surface.

Black hole

Let’s Review

Fill in the blanks to complete the following statements.

1. __________ stars are those that vary in brightness over certain periods of time.
2. __________ stars are pairs of stars that share and orbit around the same center of
mass and are held together by gravitational attraction.
3. __________ are stars that suddenly flare into brightness and then normally fade again.
4. __________ are vast stellar explosions which take a few days to complete making the
stars temporarily millions of times brighter than they originally were.
5. __________ are extremely small stars determined by their colors.
6. __________ are those of very small sizes and very great densities which have already
reached the end of their evolutionary lives.
7. __________ are rapidly revolving neutron stars.
8. __________ are very massive star cores, remnants of supernovae, that can exert such
tremendous gravitational forces that not only solid objects but even atoms cannot
escape from their surfaces.
Compare your answers with those in the Answer Key on page 33. How well did you do?

14
 Let’s Learn

Star Clusters
The stars in in a cluster all form at the same time but they have very different lifetimes. The
most massive stars shine for only a few million years before running out of hydrogen fuel and
leaving the main-sequence phase of their lifetimes, whereas low-mass stars can keep shining for
billions, even trillions, of years. The standard method for estimating the age of a cluster amounts
to finding its most massive main-sequence star. The age of the cluster is roughly the lifetime of that
star.
There are two kinds of star clusters, namely, globular and open star clusters. Let us discuss
them in detail below.

Globular Star Clusters

Globular clusters are gravitationally-bound concentrations of approximately 10000 to
1000000 stars. They populate the halo or bulge of the Milky Way and other galaxies with a
significant concentration toward the galactic center.

Open Star Clusters

Open or galactic clusters, on the other hand, are physically-related groups of stars held
together by mutual gravitational attraction. They are believed to originate from large cosmic gas/
dust clouds in the Milky Way and to continue to orbit the galaxy through their disks.

Evolution of Stars
Stars come to life, live over a very long period of time and finally die. The lives of stars can
be very different; the same applies to their death.
Let us discuss the stages in the evolution of stars in detail below.

Stage 1: The Interstellar Medium

The material in interstellar space has a name: interstellar medium, consisting mainly of
hydrogen and helium. When interstellar media condense at a rate of one particle per cubic
centimeter, they form an interstellar cloud. All the particles in the cloud attract each other by
gravitational force.

15
Stage 2: The Contraction of the Cloud
An interstellar cloud will start contracting once it becomes sufficiently large and sufficiently
heavy. The gravity of the stars that surround it also affect this process.
The contraction of a cloud causes the particles in it to pick up speed toward the center of
gravity of the cloud. With an increase in speed also comes an increase in the cloud’s temperature.
At a certain temperature, the matter inside the cloud degenerates and turns into a mixture of two
gases—nuclei gas, composed mostly of hydrogen nuclei, and the gas of electrons.
The contraction speed of an interstellar cloud depends on its mass: the larger the mass, the
faster the contraction.

Stage 3: The Protostar

The compression of the cloud generates heat and that heat gives the cloud its own light.
Now, it is no longer a dark interstellar cloud but a glowing protostar. But a protostar is still a
cloud of gas. Its glow is only caused by the energy it releases due to contraction. No actual
nuclear reaction has taken place in it yet. At this stage, a protostar can evolve in two directions:
♦ if it is massive enough, it will continue contracting until nuclear reactions take place in it
giving it the status of a star; or
♦ if it is not massive enough, it will eventually transform into a giant planet made of gas
giving off heat and light. After some time, the planet will cool down. Jupiter and Saturn
were formed this way. If the planet is very massive, it will be able to start a nuclear fire
which can change it into a tiny star. If the planet is not that massive, it will end up as a
brown dwarf.

Stage 4: The Young Star

The temperature of a protostar continuously increases making its nuclei collide more and
more violently. At a certain point, the collisions become so violent that the repulsive forces
become very weak making the nuclei merge together. This produces more heat thereby producing
a nuclear reaction or a nuclear fusion. Once ignited, the nuclear furnace in the center of the
star will burn for the greater part of the rest of its life.

Stage 5: The Mature Star

A mature star is composed mostly of hydrogen. It burns and burns until the hydrogen
inside it is converted into helium by means of nuclear fusion.
The contraction of the star slows down and finally stops as the heat inside it compensates its
gravitational force. The star then reaches a state of equilibrium. It then radiates yellowish or
white light depending on its surface temperature which varies with size. The warmer a star’s
surface, the whiter the light it gives off and the cooler its surface, the more yellow the light it gives
off. Very warm stars give off blue light.
A star stays in the mature state for most of its lifetime.

16
Stage 6: The Red Giant
Eventually, a star will burn around ten percent of its original hydrogen supply and increase its
brightness by 50%. When the helium nuclei “sink,” the core of the star becomes so large that the
chances of hydrogen nuclei hitting each other become very slim thereby stopping the nuclear
reaction in it. With this comes an imbalance in the heat and the gravitational force of the star
causing its core to contract once more.
As a result, nuclear fusion starts again only this time hydrogen gets burned in the envelope
surrounding the core of the star. The heat generated in this process then causes the star to expand
becoming a so-called red giant. A red giant emanates tremendous amounts of light because of its
great surface.

Stage 7: The Helium Flash

The helium core of the star continues to contract causing the temperature of the star to rise
steadily burning the hydrogen more rapidly and making the star’s nuclei fuse with heavier elements
like carbon. The nuclear reactions continue until the core of the star explodes. But this explosion
only occurs inside the star and is only visible by a sudden although moderate increase in the star’s
brightness. This process, called the helium flash, happens in just a few hours.

Stage 8: The Helium Star

The helium flash causes the core of the star to expand thereby cooling the extremely hot
core of the star and its surrounding hydrogen envelope. This, in turn, slows down the process of
burning hydrogen and decreases the star’s luminosity. The outer layers of the star contract again
repeating the cycle but each time taking a shorter time.

Stage 9: The Stars That Die—The White Dwarfs and the Supernovae
At a point wherein all of the nuclear fuel of a star becomes exhausted, it can become either a
white dwarf or a supernova.

Stage 10: The Remnants of Stars—Black Dwarfs, Neutron Stars and Black Holes
A white dwarf cools down slowly thereby changing its glow from white to yellow, to orange
and then to red. Finally, the remnant of the star becomes a cold, dark lump of matter—a black
dwarf. A black dwarf is as big as our planet and has a gravity that is a million times higher than
the earth’s. It is simply a quiet, desolate and dead remnant of a star moving through the cold
universe.
White dwarfs and supernovae can also turn into neutron stars and black holes aside from
black dwarfs.

17
 Giant
stage
-5

Variable
stage
0
Dust and
gases
Main-sequence star
+5
White dwarf
Planetary/ stage
Nebula stage
+10
To the black dwarf stage

25000 10000 7000 5000 3000

Evolution of stars

Let’s See What You Have Learned

A. Identify what is being referred to by each of the following.

___________ 1. Stars that vary in brightness at regular intervals of time
___________ 2. Pairs of stars that share and orbit around the same center of mass
and are held together by gravitational attraction
___________ 3. Stars that suddenly flare into brightness and normally fade again
___________ 4. Vast stellar explosions which take a few days to complete making
the stars millions of times brighter than they originally were
___________ 5. Very massive star cores, remnants of supernova explosions, that
can exert such tremendous gravitational forces that not only solid
objects but also atoms cannot escape from their surfaces
B. Enumerate the ten stages in the evolution of stars in the blanks provided below.
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________________
6. _____________________________________________________________

18
 7. _____________________________________________________________
8. _____________________________________________________________
9. _____________________________________________________________
10. _____________________________________________________________
Compare your answers with those in the Answer Key on page 33. Did you get all the
correct answers? If you did, that’s very good. You may then go to Lesson 2. If you didn’t, review
the parts you made mistakes in first before going to the next lesson.

Let’s Remember

♦ Stars can differ in terms of magnitude, color and temperature, composition, proper
motion, radial velocity, size and stellar distance.
♦ Stars can be classified as variable stars, binary stars, novae, supernovae, dwarfs,
neutron stars, pulsars and black holes.
♦ There are two kinds of star clusters, namely, globular clusters and open or galactic
clusters.
♦ There are ten stages in the evolution of stars. These are:
1. the interstellar medium stage;
2. the contraction of the cloud stage;
3. the protostar stage;
4. the young star stage;
5. the mature star stage;
6. the red giant stage;
7. the helium flash stage;
8. the helium star stage;
9. the white dwarf or supernova stage; and
10. the black dwarf, pulsar, neutron star or black hole stage.

19
 LESSON 2

An Expanding Universe?

From the first lesson, it is quite obvious that objects in the universe change continuously over
the years. Stars as well as planets change from one period of time to another causing scientists to
believe that the universe is changing as well. The only remaining question is how?
This lesson will attempt to answer this and more. Are you ready?

Let’s Try This

Prepare the following materials:

masking tape
a balloon
Do the following:
1. Cut out small circles using the masking tape. These will represent the galaxies in your
model.
2. Blow air into the balloon until it attains a round shape. Hold its opening so as not to let
the air escape. The balloon will represent the universe in your model.
3. Have another person attach the circles on the surface of the balloon. The balloon with
the pieces of tape will now serve as your model of the universe showing its galaxies.
4. Blow more air into the balloon until it becomes fully inflated. Observe what happens to
the pieces of tape on its surface as you do this. This is similar to what happens to the
universe as it expands.
Now, try answering the following questions.
1. Do the galaxies get any bigger as the universe expands?
_________________________________________________________________
2. State your observation on the relationship between the changes in distance between
galaxies and their initial distances from one another.
_________________________________________________________________
Compare your answers with those in the Answer Key on page 34. How well did you do?

20
 Let’s Learn

Interstellar Matter
Compared to the size of an entire galaxy, stars are virtually points so that the region
occupied by interstellar matter constitutes nearly all the physical volume of a galaxy. Although
the density of interstellar matter is far lower than in the best laboratory vacuum, the total mass
contained between stars is about five percent of the mass of the universe. Interstellar matter is
mostly gaseous but about one percent of it is made of interstellar grains or dust. These are not
distributed uniformly in space but are found in lumpy clouds.
Some of the interstellar material is visible sometimes throuh small telescopes as nebulae. In
the vicinity of bright stars, the grains appear as glowing regions because of the intensity of the light
they scatter; these regions are called reflection nebulae. Regions where the clouds are so thick
that they obscure all starlight are called dark nebulae. Highly ionized matter, densely clustered
around a hot star, visible by the light emitted by the ions and electrons when they recombine, is
called an emission nebula.

The Horsehead Nebula is an example of a dark nebula.

21
The Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy which is the home of our solar system together with at least
200 billion other stars and their planets and thousands of clusters and nebulae including at least
almost all objects which are not galaxies on their own. All the objects in the Milky Way orbit their
common center of mass called the galactic center.
As a galaxy, the Milky Way, is actually a giant. Radio astronomical investigations of the
distribution of hydrogen cloud have revealed that the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy. Therefore, our
galaxy has both a pronounced disk component exhibiting a spiral structure and a prominnent
nuclear region which is part of its notable bulge/halo component. It is still not clear if it has a bar
structure or not but an increasing number of investigations has given some evidence of this.

If the Milky Way were photographed from a distance, it might appear like the spiral galaxy,
NGC 2997, above.

The spiral arms of our Milky Way contain interstellar matter, diffuse nebulae and young stars
and open star clusters emerging from this matter. On the other hand, its bulge component consists
of old stars and contains globular star clusters. The Milky Way has probably about 200 globulars,
of which we know about 150. These globular clusters are strongly concentrated toward its
galactic center. From their apparent distribution in the sky, it has been concluded that this center
lies at a considerable distance in the direction of Sagittarius and not rather close to us, as had
been thought previously.
Our solar system is thus situated within the outer regions of this galaxy, well within the disk
and only about 20 light years above the equatorial symmetry plane but about 28000 light years
from the galactic center. Therefore, the Milky Way shows up as a luminous band spinning all
around the sky along this symmetry plane, which is also called the galactic equator.
Similar to other galaxies, there occur supernovae in the Milky Way at irregular intervals of
time. If they are not too heavily obscurred by interstellar matter, they can be and have been seen
as spectacular events from the earth. Unfortunately, none has yet appeared since the invention of
the telescope.

22
Other Galaxies
There are three major types of galaxies, namely, ellipticals, spirals and irregulars. Let us
discuss each type in detail.

Ellipticals
Elliptical galaxies are round or elliptical, as the name suggests, galaxies. They are
characterized by random star motion rather than rotational or ordered motion, thus their shapes.
Little bits of dust and gases are usually left between their stars. No new star formation occurs in
them accounting for the absence of hot, bright, massive stars. They do not exhibit a spiral
structure and are mostly small and faint. The dwarf ellipticals are probably the most common type
of galaxy in the universe.

Spirals
Spiral galaxies are flattened disks exhibiting spiral structures. Their spiral arms can go all
the way to their bulges or can be attached to bars that bisect their bulges. More rotational motion
than random motion can be seen in them. There are also a lot of dust and gases in-between their
stars. Most of their new stars are formed in their arms, which appear luminous. Our galaxy, the
Milky Way, is an example of this kind of galaxy.

Irregulars
Irregular galaxies have no definite structure. Some of them have a lot of dust and gases
making star formation possible. Most of them are faint when seen in the sky.

Elliptical galaxy Spiral galaxy

How are galaxies formed? Read on to find out.

Slowly rotating, collapsing gas clouds form most stars before they can flatten into a disk
resulting in an elliptically shaped galaxy. Faster rotating, collapsing gas clouds, on the other hand,
form disks before most stars are made resulting in a spiral shaped galaxy. A spiral galaxy without
a massive dark matter corona may form a bar across its middle. Big ellipticals can also form from
collisions of galaxies. Giant ellipticals found close to the center of galaxy clusters were formed
from the collision and merging of galaxies.

23
Theories on the Beginning and the End of the Universe

Steady State Theory

The steady state theory is a view that the universe is always expanding but maintaining a
constant average density. Matter are continuously being created to form new stars and galaxies at
the same rate that old ones become unobservable as a consequence of their increasing distance
and velocity of recession. A steady-state universe has no beginning or end in time.
This theory was first put forward by Sir James Jeans in about 1920 and again in revised
form in 1948 by Hermann Bondi and Thomas Gold. It was further developed by Sir Fred Hoyle
to deal with problems that arose in connection with the alternative big bang theory. Unfortunately,
observations since the 1950s have produced much evidence contradictory to the steady state
theory and supportive of the big bang theory.

Big Bang Theory

In 1948, the Russian-American physicist, George Gamow, modified Lemaitre’s theory of
the primeval atom into the big bang theory. Gamow proposed that the universe was created in a
gigantic explosion and that its various elements observed today were produced within the first few
minutes after the big bang, when the extremely high temperature and density of the universe fused
subatomic particles into chemical elements. More recent calculations indicate that hydrogen and
helium would have been the primary products of the big bang, with heavier elements being
produced later within stars. This theory provided a basis for understanding the earliest stages of
the universe and its subsequent evolution. The extremely high density within the primeval atom
causes the universe to expand rapidly. As it expands, the hydrogen and helium would cool and
condense into stars and galaxies.
So the question as to whether the universe is expanding or not is still, unfortunately,
unresolved.

Developments in Space Exploration

Apollo Lunar Missions

The Apollo Program was designed to land humans on the moon and bring them safely back
to earth. Six of the missions (Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17) achieved this goal. Apollos 7
and 9 were earth-orbiting missions to test the command and lunar modules but did not return
lunar data. Apollos 8 and 10 tested various components while orbiting the moon and returned
with photographs of the lunar surface. Apollo 13 did not land on the moon due to a malfunction
but also returned photographs.

24
 The six missions that landed on the
moon returned with a wealth of scientific
data and almost 400 kg of lunar
samples. Research conducted included
soil mechanic, meteoroid, seismic, heat
flow, lunar ranging, magnetic field and
solar wind experiments.

Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR)

The NEAR Mission is the first of NASA’s discovery missions and the first mission ever to
go into orbit around an asteroid. The ultimate goal of this mission was to rendezvous with and
achieve orbit around the near-earth asteroid, 433 Eros, in January 1999 and study the asteroid
for approximately one year.

Suppose a “killer asteriod”

were to hit earth, what
possible defense can we have?

If a “killer asteroid” were to hit our planet, it is possible to hit it with a nuclear bomb so that
it can be destroyed in space before actually reaching the earth.

Skylab Project
The Skylab Space Station was launched on May 14, 1973 from the NASA Kennedy
Space Center by a huge Saturn V launch vehicle, the moon rocket of the Apollo Space Program.
There were a total of four Skylab operations which conducted investigations on certain space
phenomena.

25
The Galileo Project
The Galileo Project is a NASA unmanned mission to explore the planet Jupiter and its
surrounding moons and magnetosphere. The spacecraft, which started its journey on October 18,
1989 with the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis, consisted of an atmospheric entry probe
(Galileo Probe) designed to enter Jupiter’s atmosphere and an orbiter (Galileo Orbiter) designed
to orbit the planet and observe Jupiter, its moons and radiation belts.

Mars Polar Lander

The Mars Polar Lander was
launched to investigate volatiles on and the
climate history of the planet Mars. It was
launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station Space Launch Complex 17 on
January 3, 1999 using the Boeing Delta II
7425 launch vehicle.

International Space Station

The International Space Station is the largest and most complex international scientific
project in history. And when it is complete just after the turn of the century, the station will
represent a move of unprecedented scale off the home planet. Led by the United States, the
International Space Station draws upon the scientific and techmological resources of 16 nations,
namely, Canada, Japan, Russia, 11 nations of the European Space Agency and Brazil.

26
 The International Space Station will establish an unprecedented state-of-the-art laboratory
complex in orbit, more than four times the size and with almost 60 times the electrical power for
experiments critical for research capability of the Mir Space Station. Through its research and
technology, the station will also serve as an indispensable step in preparation for future human
space exploration.

Let’s See What You Have Learned

Match the items in Column A with their descriptions in Column B by using connecting lines.
Column A Column B
1. Interstellar matter a. Refers to the dust and gases in
space from which stars and planets
2. Galileo Project
are formed
3. Milky Way b. The galaxy which is the home of
4. Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous our solar system together with at
least 200 billion other stars and
5. Elliptical galaxy their planets
6. Apollo Lunar Missions c. A round or elliptical galaxy
7. Spiral galaxy d. A galaxy with a flattened disk
characterized by a spiral structure
8. Big bang theory
e. A galaxy that does not have a
9. Irregular galaxy definite structure
10. Steady state theory f. A view that the universe is always
expanding but maintaining a
constant average density
g. States that the universe was
created by a gigantic explosion
h. Designed to land humans on the
moon and bring them safely back
to earth
i. The first mission ever to go into
orbit around an asteroid
j. An unmanned mission to explore
the planet Jupiter and its
surrounding moons and
magnetosphere

Compare your answers with those in the Answer Key on page 34. Did you get a perfect
score? If you did, that’s very good. You may then go to the next part of the module. If you didn’t,
review the parts of the lesson you didn’t understand very well first before going to the next part of
the module.

27
 Let’s Remember

♦ Interstellar matter refers to dust and gases in space from which stars and planets are
formed.
♦ The Milky Way is the galaxy to which our solar system belongs together with at least
200 billion other stars and their planets.
♦ There are three types of galaxies, namely, elliptical, spiral and irregular galaxies.
♦ The steady state theory states that the universe is always expanding but maintaining
a constant average density.
♦ The big bang theory states that the universe was created by a gigantic explosion.
♦ The following projects contributed to the development of space exploration at present:
1. Apollo Lunar Missions;
2. Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR);
3. Skylab Project;
4. Galileo Project;
5. Mars Polar Lander; and
6. International Space Station.
Well, this is the end of the module! Congratulations for finishing it. Did you like it? Did you
learn anything useful from it? A summary of its main points is given below to help you remember
them better.

Let’s Sum Up

This module tells us that:

♦ Stars can differ in terms of magnitude, color and temperature, composition, proper
motion, radial velocity, size and stellar distance.
♦ Stars can be classified as variable stars, binary stars, novae, supernovae, dwarfs,
neutron stars, pulsars and black holes.
♦ There are two kinds of star clusters, namely, globular clusters and open or galactic
clusters.
♦ There are ten stages in the evolution of stars. These are:
1. the interstellar medium stage;
2. the contraction of the cloud stage;
3. the protostar stage;
4. the young star stage;

28
 5. the mature star stage;
6. the red giant stage;
7. the helium flash stage;
8. the helium star stage;
9. the white dwarf or supernova stage; and
10. the black dwarf, pulsar, neutron star or black hole stage.
♦ Interstellar matter refers to dust and gases in space from which stars and planets are
formed.
♦ The Milky Way is the galaxy to which our solar system belongs together with at least
200 billion other stars and their planets.
♦ There are three types of galaxies, namely, elliptical, spiral and irregular galaxies.
♦ The steady state theory states that the universe is always expanding but maintaining
a constant average density.
♦ The big bang theory states that the universe was created by a gigantic explosion.
♦ The following projects contributed to the development of space exploration at present:
1. Apollo Lunar Missions;
2. Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR);
3. Skylab Project;
4. Galileo Project;
5. Mars Polar Lander; and
6. International Space Station.

What Have You Learned?

Enumerate what are being asked for in each of the following.

A. Properties of stars
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________________
6. _____________________________________________________________
7. _____________________________________________________________

29
B. Kinds of stars
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________________
6. _____________________________________________________________
7. _____________________________________________________________
8. _____________________________________________________________
C. Kinds of star clusters
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
D. Stages in the evolution of stars
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________________
6. _____________________________________________________________
7. _____________________________________________________________
8. _____________________________________________________________
9. _____________________________________________________________
10. _____________________________________________________________
E. Theories about the beginning and the end of the universe
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
F. Projects that contributed to the development of space exploration (mentioned in the
module)
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________

30
 5. _____________________________________________________________
6. _____________________________________________________________
Compare your answers with those in the Answer Key on pages 34 and 35. Did you get a
perfect score? If you did, that’s very good. You may then study another module. If you didn’t,
don’t worry. Just review the parts of the module you didn’t understand very well before studying
another one.

31
 Answer Key

A. Let’s See What You Already Know (pages 1–2)

A. 1. color
2. temperature
3. proper motion
4. composition
5. sellar distance
B.
Milky Way Other Galaxies Universe
2, 5 and 10 4, 6 and 8 1, 3, 7 and

C. Possible answers:
1. lunar missions
2. space probes
B. Lesson 1
Let’s Try This (page 4)
1. 12 months (from January to December)
2. The constellations Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Cameloparidalis and Lynx
can be seen on the eastern part and the constellations Ursa Minor, Draco,
Cygnus, some stars in the Ursa Major, the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper can
be seen on the western side.
3. The Little Dipper can be found in Ursa Minor while the Big Dipper can be found
in Ursa Major. There are seven stars in each of them.
4. Yes, they do every hour, in fact, because of the earth’s rotation.
Let’s Try This (page 7)
The drops of water act like spectra wherein light passes through and separates into
the various colors of the rainbow.
Let’s Review (page 10)
1. magnitude
2. color
3. composition
4. proper motion

32
5. radial velocity
6. size
7. stellar distance
Let’s Review (page 14)
1. Variable
2. Binary
3. Novae
4. Supernovae
5. Dwarfs
6. Neutron stars
7. Pulsars
8. Black holes
Let’s See What You Have Learned (pages 18–19)
A. 1. Variable stars
2. Binary stars
3. Novae
4. Supernovae
5. Black holes
B. 1. interstellar medium
2. contraction of the cloud
3. protostar
4. young star
5. mature star
6. red giant
7. helium flash
8. helium star
9. white dwarf or supernova
10. balck dwarf, neutron star or black hole

33
C. Lesson 2
Let’s Try This (page 20)
1. No, they don’t.
2. Possible answer: The galaxies’ initial distances from each other increase with an
increase in the rate of their distance changes.
Let’s See What You Have Learned (page 27)
1. (a)
2. (j)
3. (b)
4. (i)
5. (c)
6. (h)
7. (d)
8. (g)
9. (e)
10. (f)

D. What Have You Learned? (pages 29–31)

A. 1. magnitude
2. color and temperature
3. composition
4. proper moion
5. radial velocity
6. size
7. stellar distance
B. 1. variable stars
2. binary stars
3. novae
4. supernovae
5. dwarfs
6. neutron stars
7. pulsars
8. black holes

34
C. 1. globular clusters
2. open or galactic clusters
D. 1. interstellar medium
2. contraction of the cloud
3. protostar
4. young star
5. mature star
6. red giant
7. helium flash
8. helium star
9. white dwarf or supernova
10. black dwarf, neutron star or black hole
E. 1. elliptical
2. spiral
3. irregular
F. 1. steady state theory
2. big bang theory
G. 1. Apollo Lunar Missions
2. Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous
3. Skylab Project
4. Galileo Project
5. Mars Polar Lander
6. International Space Station

35
 Glossary

Binary stars A system of two stars that share and orbit around the same center of mass
and are held together by gravitational attraction.
Black hole A region in space, believed to be formed when a large star has collapsed on
itself at the end of its life, with such a strong gravitational pull that not even light waves
can escape from it.
Dwarf A kind of star designated by color.
Globular cluster A symmetrical cluster into which many thousands of stars are gathered.
Magnitude The degree of brightness of a star.
Neutron star A star of very small size and very great density which has almost reached
the end of its evolutionary life.
Nova A normally faint star that suddenly flares into brightness and then fades again.
Open cluster A cluster of several hundred to several thousand relatively young stars that
are usually loosely distributed; also known as galactic cluster.
Proper motion The movement of a fixed star in space relative to the sun.
Pulsar A source of electromagnetic radiation emitted in brief regular pulses, mainly at
radio frequency, believed to be a rapidly revolving neutron star.
Radial velocity The velocity, along the observer’s line of sight, of a star or other body.
Supernova A vast stellar explosion which takes a few days to complete making the star
temporarily millions of times brighter than it originally was.
Variable star A star whose brightness changes over a period of time.

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