GROUP 5

CHARACTERISTICS OF
STARS
 WHAT IS A STAR?

ANY MASSIVE SELF-LUMINOUS

CELESTIAL BODY OF GAS
THAT SHINES BY RADIATION
DERIVED FROM ITS INTERNAL
ENERGY SOURCES.
 WHAT IS A STAR MADE OF?

A STAR IS A LUMINOUS BALL OF GAS, MOSTLY

HYDROGEN AND HELIUM, HELD TOGETHER BY ITS
OWN GRAVITY. NUCLEAR FUSION REACTIONS IN ITS
CORE SUPPORT THE STAR AGAINST GRAVITY AND
PRODUCE PHOTONS AND HEAT, AS WELL AS SMALL
AMOUNTS OF HEAVIER ELEMENTS. THE SUN IS THE
CLOSEST STAR TO EARTH.
BRAINSTORM QUESTIONS
WHAT ARE THE FIVE BASIC
CHARACTERISTICS OF A STAR?

1 BRIGHTNESS 4 SIZE

2 COLOR 5 MASS
LET’S FIND
3 SURFACE TEMPERATURE OUT!
 STARS
BRIGHTNESS
2 CHARACTERISTICS DEFINE BRIGHTNESS: LUMINOSITY AND
MAGNITUDE. LUMINOSITY IS THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT THAT
A STAR RADIATES. THE SIZE OF THE STAR AND ITS
SURFACE TEMPERATURE DETERMINE ITS LUMINOSITY. THE
APPARENT MAGNITUDE OF A STAR IS ITS PERCEIVED
BRIGHTNESS, FACTORING IN SIZE AND DISTANCE, WHILE
THE ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE IS ITS TRUE BRIGHTNESS
IRRESPECTIVE OF ITS DISTANCE FROM EARTH
CHARACTERISTIC #1 AMOU NT OF LIGHT
THAT A STAR
BRIGHTNESS RAD IATE S
SIZE
LUMINOSITY
TEMPERATURE

BRIGHTNESS
ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE
MAGNITUDE
APPARENT MAGNITUDE
MEAS URES THE
BRIG HTN ESS OF A
STAR .
 A large star shines brighter
Brighter
than small star

A hot star shines brighter

less bright than a cool star

hotter

less hot
APPARENT MAGNITUDE
APPARENT MAGNITUDE IS A MEASURE OF THE
BRIGHTNESS OF A STAR OR OTHER
ASTRONOMICAL OBJECT OBSERVED FROM
EARTH. AN OBJECT'S APPARENT MAGNITUDE
DEPENDS ON ITS INTRINSIC LUMINOSITY, ITS
DISTANCE FROM EARTH, AND ANY EXTINCTION
OF THE OBJECT'S LIGHT CAUSED BY
INTERSTELLAR DUST ALONG THE LINE OF
SIGHT TO THE OBSERVER.
ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE
IS A MEASURE OF THE LUMINOSITY OF A
CELESTIAL OBJECT ON AN INVERSE
LOGARITHMIC ASTRONOMICAL MAGNITUDE
SCALE.AN OBJECT'S ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE
IS DEFINED TO BE EQUAL TO THE APPARENT
MAGNITUDE THAT THE OBJECT WOULD
HAVE IF IT WERE VIEWED FROM A DISTANCE
OF EXACTLY 10 PARSECS (32.6 LIGHT-
YEARS), WITHOUT EXTINCTION (OR DIMMING)
OF ITS LIGHT DUE TO ABSORPTION BY
INTERSTELLAR MATTER AND COSMIC DUST.
 STARS
COLOR
A STAR'S COLOR DEPENDS ON ITS SURFACE
TEMPERATURE. COOLER STARS TEND TO BE REDDER
IN COLOR, WHILE HOTTER STARS HAVE A BLUER
APPEARANCE. STARS IN THE MID RANGES ARE WHITE
OR YELLOW, SUCH AS OUR SUN. STARS CAN ALSO
BLEND COLORS, SUCH AS RED-ORANGE STARS OR
BLUE-WHITE STARS.
 LOW TEMPERATURE, MAKES A STAR MORE RED IN COLOR

STARS IN THE MID RANGES ARE WHITE

OR YELLOW. STARS CAN ALSO BLEND
COLORS, SUCH AS RED-ORANGE STARS
OR BLUE-WHITE STARS.

HIGH TEMPERATURE MAKES A STAR

BLUER IN COLOR
CHARACTERISTIC #2

COLOR
 STARS
SURFACE TEMPERATURE
ASTRONOMERS MEASURE A STAR'S TEMPERATURE ON
THE KELVIN SCALE. ZERO DEGREES ON THE KELVIN
SCALE IS THEORETICALLY ABSOLUTE AND IS EQUAL
TO -273.15 DEGREES CELSIUS. THE COOLEST,
REDDEST STARS ARE APPROXIMATELY 2,500 K, WHILE
THE HOTTEST STARS CAN REACH 50,000 K. OUR SUN
IS ABOUT 5,500 K.
 50,000 KELVIN
THE HOTTEST STARS CAN REACH
50,000 KELVIN

SUN (5,500 KELVIN)

THE COOLEST, REDDEST STARS

2, 500 KELVIN ARE APPROXIMATELY 2,500 KELVIN

CHARACTERISTIC #3

SURFACE TEMPERATURE
COLOR AND SURFACE TEMPRERATURE
 STARS
SIZE
ASTRONOMERS MEASURE THE SIZE OF A GIVEN STAR
IN TERMS OF OUR OWN SUN'S RADIUS. THUS, A STAR
THAT MEASURE 1 SOLAR RADII WOULD BE THE SAME
SIZE AS OUR SUN. THE STAR RIGEL, WHICH IS MUCH
LARGER THAN OUR SUN, MEASURES 78 SOLAR RADII. A
STAR'S SIZE, ALONG WITH ITS SURFACE
TEMPERATURE, WILL DETERMINE ITS LUMINOSITY.
 A SIZE OF

78 SOLAR
A STAR IS
MEASURED
1 SOLAR
RADII
RADII BASED ON
OUR SUN

WHICH IS 1
SUN
SOLAR
RADII
RIGEL
 STARS
MASS
A STAR'S MASS IS ALSO MEASURED IN TERMS OF OUR
OWN SUN, WITH 1 EQUAL TO THE SIZE OF OUR SUN.
FOR INSTANCE, RIGEL, WHICH IS MUCH LARGER THAN
OUR SUN, HAS A MASS OF 3.5 SOLAR MASSES. TWO
STARS OF A SIMILAR SIZE MAY NOT NECESSARILY
HAVE THE SAME MASS, AS STARS CAN VARY
GREATLY IN DENSITY.
Star live a life cycle that depends on the initial mass of the star.
LIFE CYCLE OF STAR
 RIGEL

3.5
SOLAR
SUN
MASS
1 SOLAR
MASS

A STAR'S MASS IS MEASURED IN TERMS OF OUR OWN SUN

SIZE-TEMPERATURE-COLOR-BRIGHTNESS
SIZE TEMPERATURE BRIGHTNESS COLOR

BLUER

REDDER
 QUIZ
1. WHAT COLOR IS THE HOTTEST STAR
A.RED B.ORANGE C.BLUE D.WHITE

2. WHAT ARE THE TWO CHARACTERISTICS THAT DEFINE BRIGHTNESS

A.ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE B. APPARENT MAGNITUDE
C.LUMINOUSITY AND BRIGHTNESS D. NONE OF THE ABOVE

3. WHAT IS THE MASS OF OUR SUN

A.1,000,000KG B.5 SOLAR MASS
C.1 SOLAR MASS D.59,000KG
4. HOW BIG IS OUR SUN
A.5 SOLAR RADII B.4 SOLAR RADII
C.6 SOLAR RADII D.1 SOLAR RADII
5. What does "k" stands for?
A. Kelsey B. Kevin C. Kelvin D. Kelly
6.WHAT COLOR OF THE STAR HAS THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE?
A.2500 B.10,000 C.5700 D. 9909
7.what is the color of the coldest star?
A. Red B. Blue C.Orange D.Yellow

8.The hottest star can reach?

A.14,000 k B.20,000 k C.60,000 k D.50,000
k
9. What stars are made of?
A. Hydrogen and Oxygen B. Hydrogen and Helium
C. Hydrogen and Lithium D. Hydrogen and Carbon

10. what does absolute magnitude mean?

A. Is a measure of the luminosity of a celestial object
on an inverse logarithmic astronomical magnitude
scale.
B.is a measure of the brightness of a star or other
astronomical object observed from Earth.
C. is a luminous ball of gas, mostly hydrogen and
helium, held together by its own gravity.
D. is the amount of light that a star radiates.
 1 RESOURCE 1
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R-ASTRONOMY

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RESOURCES HTTPS://SCIENCING.COM/CALCULATE-
STELLAR-RADII-7496312.HTML

3 RESOURCE 3
HTTPS://WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/SCIENCE/MAG
NITUDE-ASTRONOMY
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