Characteristics of Stars

• Figure 2 shows the size of the Sun, the

closest star to Earth, as compared to some
other stars that we see at night. As we can
see, the Sun is so small compared to other
nearby stars. Also, Sirius, which appear
bigger than Rigel, is actually very small
compared to Rigel. It appears larger only
because it is closer to us.
• The brightness of a star as seen from
the Earth depends on two factors-
distance and the actual brightness (or
absolute brightness) of the star. The
star’s brightness as seen from Earth is
its apparent brightness.
• Astronomers consider the star’s
absolute brightness when comparing
stars. A star’s absolute brightness is the
brightness the star would have if all
stars were the same standard distance
from Earth.
•Observers in ancient times also
imagined group of stars that form
pictures of animals, objects and
people. These imaginary groups
of stars are called
constellations.
• Many of these constellations have names that can
be traced back to early Babylonians and Greek
civilizations, but nearly all cultures have different
names for the constellations. For example, the
Greeks called the large constellation Orion, which
means hunter and is prominent in the night sky all
over the world during winter. Early Filipinos
visualized the same group of stars as Balatik, a trap
used in hunting wild pigs. Christian Filipinos named
the three stars (Orion’s belt) Tatlong Maria or Tres
Marias.