CHARACTERISTICS OF A STAR

What is a Star?

 Stars are a huge sphere of glowing glass.

 They are made up mostly of hydrogen and some helium.
 The stars release a huge amount of energy that makes them shine and
brightly.
The characteristics of the star are the following:
1. Color and Temperature
 Blue – 40,000°C (The Hottest Star)
 White – 10,000°C
 Yellow – 6,000°C (Our sun is a Yellow Star)
 Orange – 4,500°C
 Red - 3,000°C (The coldest star)
2. Size
 Supergiants – a very large radius; may be any temperature except very
hot
 Red Giants – large radius; cool and high medium luminosity
 Main Sequence – radius similar to sun; can be any temperature
 White Dwarfs – Small radius; hot or medium temperature
3. Mass
 Low-mass Star – Low mass stars are cooler, and are reddish.
 High-mass Star - High mass stars are hotter, and are white or blue
white.

4. Brightness and Luminosity
 Apparent Brightness – is the brightness of a star as it appears on
earth.
 Absolute Brightness – is how really bright a star is. It does depend
on the distance from the earth.

What is the importance of the different characteristics of star in the universe?

 It identifies the different colors of star knowing that the color of

star depends on its colors.
 It helps the astronomers to the identify if what sizes does the stars
belong.