Stars &

Constellations
Week 5 and 6
 The Universe
The Universe consists of all the matter and
the energy that exists.
It is believed to be around 14 billion years old
and at least 93 billion light-years across. The
Universe is believed to have originated in the
Big Bang.
It is changing all the time, both expanding in
size, and changing in composition.
It contains billions of galaxies, each containing
billions of stars. Even the darkest region of
space reveals countless galaxies.

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 Stars
Stars are large incandescent
balls of plasma held together by
gravity. They generate energy
through the thermonuclear
fusion of hydrogen nuclei in their
core forming helium nucleus.

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Characteristics:
• Brightness
• Color and Temperature
• Size

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 Stars Brightness

Astronomers define star brightness in terms of

apparent magnitude — how bright the star appears
from Earth.
Measuring star brightness is an ancient idea that was
devised by the Greek astronomer, Hipparchus (190–
120 BCE).
The brightest stars are called first magnitude stars.
The dimmest stars are called sixth magnitude stars.
Measurements showed that a first magnitude star is
about 100 times as bright as a sixth magnitude star.

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Stars Brightness

In modern times, astronomers extended the

magnitude scale to describe stars that are
dimmer than sixth magnitude stars.
With the use of very large telescopes, it is
possible to see stars as dim as magnitude
23 or more.
Also, since some stars are brighter than first
magnitude stars, zero and negative
magnitudes were introduced.

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 Stars Color and Temperature

Stars show a multitude of colors,

including red, orange, yellow,
, and blue.
Stars are not all the same color
because they do not all have
identical temperatures.

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 Stars Color and Temperature

Bluish stars Red stars

are very hot are cooler
stars. They than blue
emit most of stars. They
their energy emit energy
in the form of in the form of
short wave long wave
Shorter wavelength Longer wavelength
radiation. radiation.
Higher temperature Lower temperature

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Stars Color and Temperature
The surface temperature of a star is determined directly from the star’s color or
spectrum.

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Stars Color and Temperature

Photoelectric photometry
is a technique used in
measuring the colors of a
star accurately. This
technique uses a light-
measuring device called a
photometer placed at the
focus of a telescope.

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 Stars Size
Stars come in a huge range of different sizes.

Neutron Stars can be just 20 to 40 White dwarf can be very similar in size Supergiants can be more than 1500
km in diameter. to Earth’s. times larger than our Sun.

With the Sun having a radius of 695,000 km, this means that in extreme cases, we are
looking at a star of over 1,000,000,000 km.

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 Stars Size
Supergiants are overly bloated stars in the final stages of their lifetime, they are far
less concentrated (or dense) than a typical sun-like star, and so wouldn't weigh a
great deal more than the Sun.

Betelgeuse, the famous red giant star,

is about 1000 times larger than the
Sun, and yet only weighs about 15
times as much.

Large stars tend to be a lot cooler and

redder than a typical mid-life star.

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The Death of a Star
begins when it
becomes unstable
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Stable Star
When the temperature in the core of a
protostar reaches roughly 14 million
Kelvin, nuclear fusion begins and a stable
star is born.
The star now enters its stable phase.
A star is stable when its size remains
constant over time. All-stars have a stable
period in their lives, the length of which is
determined by their mass.
The Sun is halfway though its nine billion
year stable phase.

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 Stable Star
Inside a star, the energy released by However, the star’s huge mass means that
fusion produces an outward acting force. gravity is acting in the opposite direction,
This causes star expansion. forcing particles towards the core.

explosive force of gravitational

fusion force
If these two forces
are equal, then the
star will not
change its size. It is
said to be stable.

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 CONSTELLATIONS
A constellation is an area on
the celestial sphere in which a group of
visible stars forms a perceived outline or
pattern, typically representing an animal,
mythological person or creature, or an
inanimate object.

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Zodiacal Constellations

The sun appears

to move against
the background
of constellations.
These
constellations
are called
zodiacal
constellations.

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Zodiacal Constellations
CAPRICORN
Jan 20 – Feb 16
Capricornus is a faint zodiac constellation
located in the southern sky. Its name means
“the goat” in Latin. The constellation
represents a sea goat, a mythical creature
associated with the god Enki in Babylonian
mythology and later with the Greek deity Pan.

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Zodiacal Constellations
AQUARIUS
Feb 16 – Mar 11
Aquarius constellation is located in the
southern hemisphere. The constellation’s name
means “the water-bearer” or “cup-bearer” in
Latin and its symbol is ♒, which represents
water.

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Zodiacal Constellations
PISCES
Mar 11 – Apr 18
Pisces constellation lies in the northern sky. Its
name means “the fish” in Latin. Pisces is one of
the largest constellations in the sky. It is first
catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in
the 2nd century. Its symbol is ♓.

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Zodiacal Constellations
ARIES
Apr 18 – May 13
Aries constellation is located in the northern
hemisphere. Its name means “the ram” in Latin.
The symbol for the constellation is ♈ and it
represents a ram’s horns. Aries was first
catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in
his Almagest in the 2nd century.

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 Zodiacal Constellations
TAURUS
May 13 – June 21
Taurus is a large constellation in the northern sky. Its
name means “bull” in Latin. The constellation is
symbolized by the bull’s head, ♉. It is first catalogued by
the Greek astronomer Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd
century CE. In Greek mythology, the constellation is
associated with Zeus, who transformed himself into a
bull to get close to Europa and abduct her.
.

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 Zodiacal Constellations
GEMINI
June 21 – July 20
Gemini constellation is located in the northern celestial
hemisphere. Its name means “the twins” in Latin. The
constellation represents the twins Castor and Pollux
(Polydeuces), also known as the Dioscuri in ancient times,
in Greek mythology. It is first catalogued by the Greek
astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The
constellation’s symbol is ♊.

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 Zodiacal Constellations
CANCER
July 20 – Aug 10
Cancer constellation is located in the northern sky. Its
name means “the crab” in Latin. Its symbol is ♋. The
constellation was first catalogued by the Greek
astronomer Ptolemy in his Almagest in the 2nd century
CE.
.

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 Zodiacal Constellations
LEO
Aug 10 – Sep 16
Leo constellation lies in the northern sky. It is one of
the largest constellation in the sky. It represents the
“lion” and is usually associated with the Nemean lion in
Greek mythology. Its symbol is ♌. It was first catalogued
by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

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 Zodiacal Constellations
VIRGO
Sep 16 – Oct 30
Virgo constellation lies in the southern sky. Its name
means “virgin” in Latin. The constellation is represented
by the symbol ♍. It is first catalogued by the Greek
astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.

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 Zodiacal Constellations
LIBRA
Oct 30 – Nov 23
Libra constellation lies in the southern sky. It is first
catalogued by Ptolemy in the 2nd century CE. The
constellation’s name means “the weighing scales” in Latin.
Libra is usually depicted as the scales held by the Greek
goddess of justice Dike (or Astraea). Libra is the only zodiac
constellation that represents an object, not an animal or a
character from mythology. The constellation is represented
by the symbol ♎.

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 Zodiacal Constellations
SCORPIO
Nov 23 – Nov 29
Scorpius constellation lies in the southern sky. It
represents “the scorpion” and is associated with the
story of Orion in Greek mythology. It is first catalogued
by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.
Its symbol is ♏.

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 Zodiacal Constellations
OPHIUCHUS
Nov 29 – Dec 17
Ophiuchus constellation lies in the southern sky, near the
celestial equator. Its name means “the serpent bearer” in
Greek. It is associated with the figure of Asclepius, the famous
healer in Greek mythology. Ophiuchus is generally depicted as
a man holding a snake. usually depicted coiled around his
waist.

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 Zodiacal Constellations
SAGITTARIUS
Dec 17 – Jan 20
Sagittarius constellation lies in the southern sky. It represents
the archer. Sagittarius is usually depicted as a centaur holding
a bow and arrow. The constellation’s symbol is ♐. It is also
associated with Crotus, the satyr who kept company of the
Muses on Mount Helicon.

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 Our Sun (a star) and all
the planets around it are
part of a galaxy known
as the Milky Way
Galaxy. A galaxy is a
large group of stars, gas,
and dust bound together
by gravity. They come in
a variety of shapes and
sizes.
The Milky Way Galaxy
The Milky Way is a large
barred spiral galaxy. It is
a flat disk with a bright
central budge called the
nucleus and spiral arms.
Our galaxy is called the
Milky Way because it
appears as a milky band
of light in the sky when
you see it in a dark area.
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END OF PRESENTATION

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