Big Bang and Stars Notes Guide

Big bang theory: the theory that all matter and energy in the universe was compressed into an
extremely small volume that 13 to 15 billion years ago exploded and began expanding in
all directions.

Evidence:
1.) Cosmic background radiation (measured using radio wave and microwave telescopes)
2.) Microwaves

Star: a large celestial body that is composed of gas and that emits light.

Nuclear Fusion in Stars: H + H = He or Hydrogen plus Hydrogen = Helium

Star Composition

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Longest Shortest
Wavelength Wavelength
Radio Microwave Infrared Visible UV X-Ray Gamma
Ray

Dark Line Spectra:

Spectra are primarily used to determine a star’s composition. Each spectra is specific to an
element. We can use this to identify elements in stars.
Star Motion

Doppler effect: an observed change in the frequency of a wave when the source or observer is
moving.

Red Shift: Objects are moving farther away from Earth. A red shift is a longer wavelength.
Think of a slinky being stretched. Most objects in the universe are moving away from each
other. This supports the idea that the Universe is expanding (Big Bang Theory).

Blue Shift: Objects are moving closer to Earth. A blue shift is a shorter wavelength. Think of a
slinky being scrunched up again.

Star Brightness

Apparent Magnitude: The brightness of a star as it looks from Earth. A star closer to Earth
looks brighter (the sun looks very bright because it is the closest star). A star farther from Earth
looks dimmer.

Absolute Magnitude: The ACTUAL brightness of a star. The sun looks brighter than other
stars because it is close to us but other stars that look dimmer to us may actually be brighter
because they are bigger.

Star Classification

Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R Diagram): A diagram used to classify stars based on their

Temperature and Luminosity (Brightness). Luminosity is plotted on the y-axis and
Temperature is plotted on the x-axis.

Star Color: The color of a star determines its temperature.

From Hottest to Coldest the colors are: Blue, White, Yellow, Orange, Red. Our sun is
Yellow.

O B A F G K M

Oh Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me

Stars are born in Nebulas. A nebula is a cloud of dust and gas. After they form, they can move
through several stages based on their original Mass!

• Main Sequence Stars: The second and longest stage in the life of a star is the main-
sequence stage. During this stage, energy continues to be generated in the core of the star
as hydrogen fuses into helium in a process called Nuclear Fusion. (The Sun) Nuclear
Fusion has the following equation: H + H = He or Hydrogen plus Hydrogen makes a
Helium.

ALL ELEMENTS IN THE UNIVERSE UP TO IRON COMES FROM STARS! ALL

ELEMENTS HEAVIER THAN IRON COME FROM EXPLODING STARS CALLED
SUPERNOVAE!

• Giants: a very large and bright star whose hot core has used most of its hydrogen. They
now burn Helium.

• White Dwarfs: gravity causes the remaining matter in the star to collapse inward. The
matter collapses until it cannot be pressed further together. A hot, extremely dense core of
matter is left, which is called a White Dwarf.
 • Nova: An exploding, dying star. Large mass stars may also form a black hole instead of
going Nova.

warf - is left.