Stars

- are massive and luminous balls of flaming gasses, made up of mostly hydrogen
and some helium.
There are approximately 400 billion stars in our galaxy and there are about 170 million
of galaxies. A person can see only about 3,000 stars on the average.

Sun- the nearest star on Earth, which is the source of the most energy.
Sun is a Star. It is a huge, glowing sphere of gas.
- Is a 4.5 billion years old yellow dwarf star.
The Sun is larger than 95% of the stars.

Sun as a star, why is it important?

 Answer: Energy Source: The Sun is a massive nuclear fusion reactor that produces an
enormous amount of energy through the process of converting hydrogen into helium. This
energy is emitted in the form of light and heat, providing the primary source of energy for life on
Earth.

 Sustaining Life: The Sun's energy drives photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert
carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. This process is fundamental for the
production of food and oxygen, which are essential for sustaining life on Earth.

 Climate and Weather: Solar energy is a key driver of Earth's climate and weather systems.
Variations in solar radiation influence atmospheric circulation patterns, temperature distribution,
and precipitation, all of which impact weather patterns on a global scale.

 Day and Night Cycle: The Sun's daily cycle of rising and setting defines Earth's day and night
cycle, which regulates biological processes and behaviors in many organisms.

 Navigation: Throughout history, the Sun has been used as a primary navigation tool. Its position
in the sky can help determine direction, time, and location, aiding navigation both on land and at
sea.

Distances to the Stars

- Stars are separated by vast distances.
- Astronomers use units called light years to measure the distance of the stars.
- A light-year is the distance that light travels in a vacuum in a year.
- Proxima Centauri, is the closest star to the sun. (The distance to Proxima Centauri
from the Sun is approximately 4.24 light-years, or about 40 trillion kilometers (25 trillion
miles).
Parallax (inusukat ng paralaks ang pagbabago sa posisyon ng isang bituin laban sa mga mas
malalayong bituin habang ang Daigdig ay umaalog sa paligid ng Araw. Ang epekto na ito ay katulad
ng paggalaw ng mga bagay kapag tinitingnan mula sa iba't ibang posisyon.)

- Astronomers have developed various methods of determining the distance of

stars.
- The change in position of an object with respect to a distant background is called
parallax.
- As Earth moves in its orbit, astronomers are able to observe stars from two
different positions.
- Astronomers measure the parallax of nearby stars to determine their distance
from Earth.
Viewing Stars
- Stars can be viewed using a telescope.
Hubble Space Telescope(launched 1990)- one of the most famous telescope made by the
United States National Aeronautics and Space or NASA(responsible for a wide range of
activities related to space exploration, scientific research, and aeronautics.)
- Named after American astronomist Edwin Hubble.
Two of the largest telescopes found in the Philippines are found in Quezon City:
a) One is in Manila observatory, found inside the campus of the Ateneo de Manila
University.
b) The other one is in PAG-ASA Astronomical laboratory found inside the campus
of University of the Philippines. ( national meteorological and hydrological
agency of the Philippines)

Star Sizes
Sun- has a diameter of about 1,392,000 km, or 109 times about the diameter of our
planet.

White dwarfs- about one hundredth the radius of the sun.

Neutron stars- measure only about 24 km across.
Red super giant- the largest. May have the radius of 1,000 solar radii.
Star Colors and Temperature
- Stars in the sky show tinges of different colors which reveal the stars’
temperature.
Stop and Think!
What do you think the color of the hottest flame?

- Blue stars shine with the hottest temperatures and red stars shine with the
coolest temperatures.
- Our sun is a yellow star having a surface temperature of about 5,500 degrees
Celsius.
Star Spectral Classification
 - Astronomers place stars in spectral (color) class categories based on their
surface temperature.
The Spectral Class Letters are OBAFGKM (Oh Be A Fine Girl/Guy Keep Me happy)

Stars colors from hottest to coolest:

Blue, Blue-white, White, Yellow-White, Yellow, Orange, Red

- O or blue is the hottest (>25,000 degrees Celsius) and

- M or red is the coolest (3,500-2,000 degrees Celsius)
Classification of Stars

Stop and think!

The star Rigel in Orion is about 60,000 times larger than our Sun. Why does our Sun
appear brighter than Rigel?
Rigel appears fainter than our Sun because it's farther away (distance dims light) even though
it's much bigger. Our Sun is also a brighter star (higher luminosity).

Star Brightness

- Is related to the distance from the Earth and the age of the star.
Magnitude- is the term astronomers use to measure the brightness of a star.
1st magnitude stars are the brightest
6th magnitude stars are the weakest
Stop and Think!
- If person A has a pen flashlight and person B has a mega flashlight and both
were standing at the front of the classroom, which light would appear brighter?
- If person A (pen light) stood in the classroom and person B (mega light) stood at
the baseball fields across the street, which light would appear brighter?
- You cannot tell by looking in the sky how bright a star truly is. The farther away
the star is, the less bright it will appear.
Apparent Magnitude
- The brightness of a star as it appears from Earth with the naked eye.
Absolute Magnitude
- The true brightness of a star if all stars were at a uniform distance from Earth
- The absolute magnitude of stars is reported in comparison to our Sun.
Ex. AM of Sun = 1
AM < 1: brighter than Sun
AM > 1: less bright than Sun

Apparent and Absolute Magnitudes for the ten brightest stars in the night sky.
The larger the negative magnitude a star has, the brighter it is; but the largest positive
magnitude, the fainter the star.

Life Cycle of a Star

- Stars are born in nebulae (in singular form, it is nebula)
 Young stars undergo collapse, forming a main sequence stars.
 An expanded star is a red giant or supergiant
 Eventually collapse and explode and become either of the three: a white dwarf, a
neutron star, or a black hole

The Sun: Our Life-Giving Star