Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
the STARS
JOHN
KENNETH KIM
I. ARCAN
Grade 6 Eros
Science
Background
When you look up at the night sky, you can see many beautiful stars. If
you are out in the open field, farm or provinces, you may see
We may not know it but there are several classifications of stars and
they even vary in intensity and temperature. Some stars may be hot or
cool. Some are brighter than the others. Some are big, some are small.
In fact, a couple of stars were discovered to be larger than the sun by
100 to 200 times. There are stars which are smaller than the Earth.
Scientists and students study stars and group them according to their
likeness or differences.
Surprisingly, these stars have names. I wish there is one named John,
Kenneth or Kim. Oh well, join me in my odyssey to space and learn
about these diamonds in the sky.
Table of Contents
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Background --------------------------------------------------------Why Stars Objectives of the Study ------------------------Twinkle Twinkle A Starry Overview ------------------------All About Stars -----------------------------------------------------Beyond the Galaxy A Conclusion ------------------------
1
3
4
5
10
VI.
11
Why Stars
Stars, though often immediately seen in the sky, follow a specific life
cycle. This cycle is:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Nebula
New Star (large)
Red Supergiant
Supernova
Black Hole
Neutron Star
Stars following this complete life cycle also show the peculiarities of
these twinkies. They give each specific star an identity of its own.
Classification of Stars
There are different classifications of stars, namely: Variable Stars,
Binaries and Nova. They not only vary in names, they also have their
own qualities.
Variable Star is, quite simply, a star that changes brightness. A star is
considered variable if its apparent magnitude (brightness) is altered in
any way from our perspective on Earth. These changes can occur over
years or just fractions of a second, and can range from one-thousandth
of a magnitude to 20 magnitudes. More than 100,000 variable stars
are known and have been catalogued, and thousands more are
suspected variables. Our own sun is a variable star; its energy output
varies by approximately 0.1 percent, or one-thousandth of its
magnitude, over an 11-year solar cycle.
The first modern identified variable star was Omicron Ceti, later
renamed Mira. It had been described as a nova in 1596 by David
Fabricius. In 1638, Johannes Holwards observed Omicron Ceti pulsating
in a regular 11-month cycle. This was an important discovery, as it
helped verify that the stars were not eternal and invariable as ancient
philosophers such as Aristotle had believed. The discovery of variable
stars, along with reports of supernovae, paved the way for
development of the science of astronomy.
In the abstract of a talk given to celebrate the 400th anniversary of
Miras discovery, Dorrit Hoffleit, of Yale University, said, Within the
first century following Fabricius, four Mira-type variables were
discovered, and in all cases it has been found that the stars were
suspected of being novae long before their "official" discovery in the
Western World. Three of the four had been recorded as novae in early
Chinese
or
Korean
records.
(Retrieved
from
http://www.space.com/15396-variable-stars.html)
Binaries are two stars orbiting a common center of mass. The brighter
star is officially classified as the primary star, while the dimmer of the
two is the secondary (classified as A and B respectively). In cases
where the stars are of equal brightness, the designation given by the
discoverer is respected.
Binary pairs can be classified based on their orbit. Wide binaries are
stars that have orbits which keep them spread apart from one another.
These stars evolve separately, with very little impact from their
companions. They may have once contained a third star, which booted
the distant companion outward while eventually having been ejected
themselves.
Binary star systems provide the best means for scientists to determine
the mass of a star. As the pair pulls on one another, astronomers can
calculate its size, and from there determine characteristics such as
temperature and radius. These factors help characterize single main
sequence
stars in
the
universe.
(Retrieved
from
http://www.space.com/22509-binary-stars.html)
Color
Temperature
Examples
Blue white
12,000
Rigel, Spica
White
11,000
Vega
White
10,500
Sirius
Yellow
6,000
Cepalla
Yellow
6,000
Sun
Orange
4,200
Arcturus
Red
3,000
Antares
Red
2,200
Betegeuse
Stars also have differences in terms of sizes and brightness. These are
the reasons why some are seen visibly while others are not. They make
the stars seem to sparkle in the night sky. Brightness is related to the
distance from the earth and the age of the star. Classifying stars by
their brightness, they can either be 1st magnitude stars are the
brightest or 6th magnitude stars are the weakest. These magnitude are
also grouped as Apparent Magnitude which dictates the brightness as
it appears to us and the Absolute Magnitude which tells us the stars
brightness given a certain distance.
Indeed, Stars are amazing as they follow a life cycle. They are not just
pop-ups in the sky at night. They have a living pattern which also affect
all sorts of colors, temperatures, brightness and distances. They live
among and within us.
Next time you sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars, remember that these
glowing balls of gas are interesting diamonds in the sky.
10
Sources
http://www.space.com/15396-variable-stars.html
http://www.space.com/22509-binary-stars.html
www.dvd-ppt.slideshow.com
www.kidsastronomy.com/stars.html
www.cosmos4kids.com/files/stars_intro.html
www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/stars
http://www.google.com.ph/images
http://curious.astro.cornell.edu
11