STARS AND CONSTELLATION

• Stars are massive balls of gas that emit light and are mostly made up of Hydrogen and Helium
• Stars shine because of nuclear fusion happening at their cores, where hydrogen atoms fuse to form helium, releasing heat, light, and energy.
• A Spectroscope is used by astronomers to determine the composition of a star
• Fusion is a process where the nuclei of atoms are joined.
• Characteristics of stars include brightness, color and surface temperature, size, and mass
• Brightness of a star depends on its temperature, size, and distance from Earth, with luminosity referring to the amount of light a star radiates and magnitude measuring the brightness of a star or other celestial body
• Apparent magnitude indicates how bright a star appears to an observer on Earth, while absolute magnitude represents the actual brightness of a star
• Hot stars are around 15,000 degrees and greater, while cold stars are around 3,000 degrees, with blue being the color of the hottest star and red the color of the coldest star
• Stars can be classified by size:

  • Super Giant: Diameter is 1000 times compared to that of the sun
  • Giant: Diameter is 10 to 100 times of the sun
  • Medium-sized stars: Diameters range from one-tenth to about 10 times the diameter of the sun
  • White Dwarf: Diameter is a little more than half the diameter of Earth
  • Neutron Star: Diameter is about 16 kilometers
• The H-R Diagram shows the relationship between absolute magnitude/luminosity and temperature
• The mass of a star determines most of its properties, with more massive stars having greater gravity, being hotter, and denser
• Binary stars are used to determine the mass of a star
• A constellation is a group of stars that appears to form a pattern in the sky, with 88 constellations in total
• Edmond Halley discovered that stars move and change positions over time
• Polaris is known as the North Star
• The Seven Major Constellations include Cassiopeia, Orion, Cygnus, Taurus, Ursa Major, Scorpius, Ursa Minor, Draco, and Cepheus
• The Zodiac is a band of 13 constellations along the ecliptic, which is the plane of the Earth's orbit around the sun
• Circumpolar constellations can be seen all year long and never fully set below the horizon due to Earth's rotation
• An asterism is a recognized group of stars within a constellation or a cross of constellations
• Astronomy is the study of celestial objects, space, and the universe as a whole, while astrology is the study of the movement and position of celestial objects and their supposed influence on human lives
• GEMINI is a winter constellation known as The twin
• URSA MAJOR is a northern circumpolar constellation referred to as The Great Bear
• SAGRITTARIUS is a summer constellation representing a mythological creature that is half human and half horse
• SCORPIO A summer constellation that is half man half scorpion
• CASSIOPEIA is a northern circumpolar constellation that resembles an 'M' and is known as The Queen
• THE PLEIADES are also known as The Seven Sisters
• CRUX is a southern circumpolar constellation that contains the stellar south
• ORION is the hunter, one of the most recognizable and conspicuous constellations in the sky
• CYGNUS is represented by The Swan
• TAURUS is symbolized by The Bull
• URSA MINOR is known as Little Bear
• DRACO is depicted as The Dragon
• CEPHEUS is referred to as The King
• BETELGUESE is a bright red supergiant star found forming in the shoulder of Orion
• RIGEL is a blue supergiant, the 7th brightest star in the nighttime sky
• CANIS MAJOR is known as Big Dog
• SIRIUS is the brightest star in the nighttime sky, found in Canis Major
• CARINA, Latin for KEEL, is the 34th largest constellation
• CENTAURUS refers to the half man, half horse and is the 9th largest constellation
• LUPUS, Latin for WOLF, is a constellation