STARS AND CONSTELLATIONS BRIGHTNESS

CHARACTERISTICS OF STARS • It is being described in terms of

magnitude and luminosity.
WHAT IS A STAR?
• The magnitude of a star is based on a
• Star is a massive ball of plasma held
2000 year-old scale devised by a Greek
together by it own gravity and emits
astronomer, Hipparchus in 125 BC.
light throughout the universe.
• The first magnitude is assigned to the
• The closest star to Earth other than the
brightest ones, while the faintest ones
Sun is, Proxima Centauri which is about
were assigned the sixth magnitude
4.3 lightyears away, roughly about 100
stars.
million times farther than the moon.
• At present, the brightness of a star as
• It undergoes nuclear reactions that
viewed from the earth is known as it’s
burn hydrogen in their cores.
apparent magnitude (m).
• Stars are more massive compared to
• The scale used to measure the apparent
the majority of the planets.
magnitude is backwards and
• Stars are formed when a gas of cloud logarithmic which means that larger
out in the nebula or a region of magnitudes corresponds to fainter
interstellar space collapses under the stars.
influence of gravity.
• Since the distance between the Earth
• Our star, Sun is also known as Sol, and the star can affect the light, as an
which is known to as a yellow dwarf observer can see it, astronomers also
star with an official designation of G-V describe the actual brightness of star
star. using the term absolute magnitude.

• Yellow dwarf stars generally have a • Absolute magnitude is the apparent

surface temperature between 5,300 to brightness the star would have if it were
6,000 K and fuse hydrogen to helium to placed at a distance of 10 parsecs or
generate its light. 32.6 lightyears from the Earth.

• It belongs to Population I group stars • On the other hand, luminosity is the

which contains relatively large amounts power of a star.
of heavier elements.
• It depends on its size and temperature
• At present, the sun is made up of about – it is proportional to the surface area
70% hydrogen, 28% helium and 2% of a star and the fourth power of its
traces of “metals”. surface temperature.

• It has lived for about 4.3 billion years COLOR

ago and is expected to turn into a red
• Stars generally appear white in the sky
giant star and collapse down into a
but if we will look carefully, we can
white dwarf star in 7 billion years.
notice a range of colors varying from
• Stars can be defined using five basic white, blue, red, yellow or even gold.
characteristics:
• For an instance, the constellation Orion,
• Brightness the Hunter displays a beautiful contrast
as the red Betelgeuse at Orion’s armpit
• Color and blue Rigel at the leg of Orion can be
• Surface Temperature observed in the sky.

• Size and

• Mass
SIZE AND MASS EVOLUTION OF STARS

• About 90% of all stars are main • A star begins as a large cloud of gas and
sequence stars. dust called nebula.

• Among the main sequence stars, the • The particles of gas and dust exert a
hottest stars generate the most light gravitational force on each other, and
and the coolest generate the least. the nebula begins to contract.

• The main sequence stars exhibit the • As the particles in the cloud move
fusion of hydrogen in the core of the closer together, the temperature in the
star into helium. nebula increase.

• The mass is about 75% to 125% the • When the temperature in the nebula
mass of our sun. reach 10,000,000°C, fusion begins.

• Main sequence stars expand to become • The energy released radiates outward
giant or super giant stars when the through a condensing ball of gas.
core hydrogen runs out.
• As the energy radiates into space, a star
• This progression called “solar is born.
evolution” varies greatly in time span.
• The heat from the fusion causes
• The higher the mass, the shorter the pressure that balances the attraction
evolutionary cycle because higher-mass due to gravity, and the star becomes a
stars use their hydrogen fuel much main sequence star.
more quickly than lower-mass stars.
• When the hydrogen in the core of the
• The process takes 2 million years for star is exhausted, there is no longer a
high-mass stars and about 3-12 million balance between the pressure and
years for smaller-mass stars. gravity.

• The smallest stars in the universe are • The core contracts, and the
called the tiny red dwarves. temperature inside the star increases.

• Stars with a mass of about 0.8 to about • This causes the outer layers of the star
10 times the solar mass are called red to expand.
giants.
• Thus, the star has evolved into a giant
• Super giant stars are those with a mass star.
more than 10 times higher than that of
• Unless a giant star has a small mass,
our sun and a luminosity nearly
helium nuclei fuse to form carbon in its
1,000,000 times as great.
core.
STELLAR COLOR AND TEMPERATURE
• By this time, the star has expanded to
• Red: 2,000 – 3,500 K an enormous size.

• Orange: 3,500 – 4,900 K • Its outer layer are much cooler than
they were when it was a main sequence
• Yellow: 4,900 – 6,000 K
star.
• White-Yellow: 6,000 – 7,500 K
• In about 5 billion years, our sun will
• White: 7,500 – 10,000 K become a giant.

• Blue-White: 10,000 – 28,000 K • After the stars core uses up its supply of
helium, it contracts even more.
• Blue: 28,000 – 50,000 K
• If the star has a large mass, its core uses
up the carbon and other elements it
previously created and produces
heavier elements.
 • As the core of the star runs out of fuel, VARIABLE STARS
the outer layers become more unstable
• These are stars whose brightness vary
and begin escaping into space.
periodically.
• This leaves behind the hot, dense core.
• They rhythmically glow brighter and
• The burned-out core contracts under dimmer.
the force of gravity.

• At this stage in a star’s evolution, it is a

• Cepheid Variable
white dwarf.
• Variation is in a regular pattern.
• For stars more than 10 times more
massive than our sun, the stages of • As it expands, it becomes cooler
evolution occur more quickly and more and dimmer.
violently.
• As it contracts, it becomes
• The core heats up to much higher hotter and brighter.
temperature.
• Long Period Variables
• Heavier and heavier elements form by
fusion. • Stars which bright and dim
periods last 150 days or more.
• The star expands into a supergiant.
• One example is Mira.
• Eventually, iron forms in the core.
• Novae or Supernovae
• Because fusion can no longer occur, the
core collapses violently, sending a shock • These are exploding stars.
wave outward through the star. • Novae are stars which suddenly
• The outer portion of the star explodes, become very bright (10,000x).
producing a supernova. • Supernovae are stars which
• A supernova can be millions of times explode violently which
brighter than the original star. brightness greatly exceed those
of novae.
• The collapsed core shrinks into a
neutron star, or if the original star is INCREDIBLE SPACE OBJECTS
more than 30 times massive than the NEUTRON STARS
sun, probably, nothing can stop the
core’s collapse and quickly evolves into • Protons and electrons of tightly
a black hole. compound objects have been
transformed by gravitational forces into
OTHER CLASSES OF STARS neutrons
BINARY STARS
• It is about 20km in diameter with a
• These are stars of unequal magnitudes mass of about 1.4 times that of our sun.
bound together by mutual gravitational
force. PULSARS

• One revolves around the other. • These are neutron stars flickering with
radio pulses.
• In some instances, the dimmer one
eclipses the brighter one. • They have jets of particles moving at
the speed of light that stream out above
• Example is Sirius and its companion their magnetic poles.
star, Sirius B.
QUASARS
• Sirius B is a hot, massive dwarf star
revolving around Sirius once every 50 • These objects are 20,000 times brighter
years. than a star of magnitude 18.
 • These are strong sources of radio • These 48 constellations were based on
waves. Greek and Roman Mythology.

• 95% are radiation emitters. • There are also star patterns that have
been discovered but have not been
BLACK HOLES
officially identified as constellation are
• Black holes result when matter such as called asterism.
a star collapses into an extremely
• The most common example is the Big
compact state.
Dipper.
• They have strong gravitational fields
that can trap anything.
ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS
• Black holes may come in different sizes:
HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
• Mini-black holes
- Mini-black holes are • It is a reflecting telescope built as an
produced from over-dense orbiting observatory.
regions of the universe.
• It was launched in 1990 but was
• Medium-sized black holes repaired in 1993.
- Medium-sized black holes
• It produces significantly sharper images
resulted from a collapse of a
than on the Earth.
very massive star
• Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) -
• Monster black holes
ACS is a third-generation imaging
- Monster black holes are
camera. This camera is optimized to
found in the center of the
perform surveys or broad imaging
galaxies and were probably
campaigns.
formed when the galaxies were
starting to organize. ULTRAVIOLET TELESCOPES
ARRANGEMENT OF STARS IN A GROUP • Enables astronomers to study extremely
hot objects including quasars and white
CONSTELLATIONS
dwarf.
• Constellations are patterns of stars
• Also used how stars are formed and the
seen in the sky.
composition of gas between stars and
• This refers to a group of stars that galaxies.
forms a particular shape in the sky.
X-RAY TELESCOPES
• These are located within the celestial
• These x-ray telescopes can locate x-rays
sphere, an imaginary sphere which the
in the sky.
observer is the center at which all
celestial object appear to be projected • Through the x-ray telescopes,
and of which the apparent dome of the astronomers found out that besides the
visible sky forms half. sun, there are many objects in the
universe which give off much x-rays.
• The International Astronomical Union
(IAU) divides the sky into 88 official CONSTELLATIONS IN FOCUS
constellations with exact boundaries, so
that every place in the sky belongs • Constellations are groups of bright stars
within a constellation. which appear close to each other in the
sky but are actually light years away
• Of these, 48 were already recognized in from each other.
ancient times and had been listed by
the astronomer Ptolemy. • The shape of constellations depends on
the point of view of the person looking
at them from the Earth.
 • There are currently 88 constellations • It is known as “The Hunter”
divided into: located on the celestial equator
and visible throughout the
• 14 men and women
world.
• 9 birds
• Its family includes the Orion
• 2 insects (The Hunter), Canis Major and
Canis Minor (Orion’s Two
• 19 land animals Gods), Monoceres (The
• 10 water creatures Unicorn), and Lepus (The Hare).

• 2 centaurs

• 1 head with hair URSA MAJOR

• There are currently 88 constellations • Ursa Major (The Big Bear) is one
divided into: of the famous constellations. It
can be seen all year for those at
• 1 serpent the Northern latitude.
• 1 dragon • Its family is a group of 10
• 1 flying horse constellations.

• 1 river • This includes Ursa Major (Big

Bear), Ursa Minor (Little Bear),
• 29 inanimate objects Canes Venatici (Hunting Dogs),
Bootes (Herdsman), Coma
• Majority of the sky patterns bear little,
Berenice (Berenice’s Hair),
if any, resemblance to the figures and
Corona Borealis (Northern
the names they are supposed to
Crown), Camelopardalis
represent
(Giraffe), Lynx (Lynx), Draco
• Our modern constellation system can (The Dragon) and Leo Minor
be rooted from the works of the ancient (Little Lion).
Greeks.
• CASSIOPEIA
• It is assumed that the ancient
• According to Ian Ridpath’s star
constellation makers probably meant
tales, Cassiopeia is a vain and
for them to become symbolic as most
boastful wife of King Cepheus
of the stars are taken from stories,
of Euthopia who lies next to her
heroes, people and animals that were
in the sky.
important to them.
• They are the only husband-and-
DIFFERENT CONSTELLATIONS IN THE SKY
wife couple among the
• The 88 constellations are divided into constellations.
two groups relative to their positions on
• One of the brightest in the
the sky.
Northern Hemisphere.
• There are 44 major constellations
• DRACO
visible in the sky north of the equator.
• According to the tales, Draco
• The remaining 44 constellations can be
was the dragon which Hercules
viewed in the southern sky.
needs to defeat in order to
SOME FAMOUS CONSTELLATIONS obtain the Golden Apples of
Hesperides.
• ORION
• Draco is also the dragon who is
• One of the most prominent star
guarding the Golden Fleece.
patterns in the sky.
 • Athena defeated Draco during moves toward that direction in its
the war between the Titans and revolution.
the Olympians.
• Astronomers divided the constellations
• It is derived from the Latin term into three regions:
“draconem” meaning “huge
• North circumpolar
serpent”
constellations
• HERCULES
• South circumpolar
• It was named after Roman constellations
Hercules, Greek Herakles, who
• Equatorial constellations
was the greatest of the Greek
heroes and famous for his 12 ZODIAC CONSTELLATIONS
labors.
• As stated earlier, we see different
• Belongs to the famous 48 constellations in each season.
originals plotted by Ptolemy
and recognized as one of the 88 • With this, we are able to see different
modern constellations adopted zodiac constellations every month.
by the IAU. • The word zodiac means “circle of
• Slay the Nemean Lion. animals” or the “circle of life” in Greek.

• Slay the nine-headed Lernaean • there are 13 equatorial patterns in the

Hydra. astronomy.

• Capture the Golden Hind of • They have been used as astrological

Artemis. signs which have 12 signs that do
actually match the celestial
constellations.
CHANGING POSITIONS OF CONSTELLATIONS • The constellations that astronomers
used to identify parts of the sky are not
• You do not see all the constellation in
the same as the zodiac signs as the
one night.
zodiac signs uses by the astrologers.
• Some of the constellations can be seen
• Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer is
only during certain seasons.
recognized by the astronomers by is not
• The part of the sky visible at night an astrological sign.
changes as the seasons change.
• The zodiac signs were based on the
• In any one evening, the observers at constellations 2000 years ago when
different latitudes see different their modern names were first used.
constellations.
• The signs are an astrological
• The observer at the equator can view all convenience ignoring the differences
the constellations during the course of between two different types of solar
the year, but an observer at the north calendar.
or the south can see only stars in a
• The difference in two solar calendars is
single hemisphere of constellations.
caused by an astronomical
• The stars appear to change positions in phenomenon called precession.
the sky throughout the year as Earth
• In addition to rotation and revolution of
revolves around the sun.
the sun, the Earth wobbles in its axis
• The people on Earth can only see slightly and very slowly, completing a
constellations which are distributed in a circle every 26,000 years.
particular part of the space as the Earth
• Astrologers invented the signs of zodiac
different from the constellations after
 the effects of precession became • September 16 to October 30
generally known.
• LIBRA
• Some astrologers say that a particular
• The Scales
zodiac sign represents the essence of a
particular time of the year, much like a • October 30 to November 23
seasonal effect.
• SCORPIUS
• According to astronomers, the stars do
not cause the seasons, but the Earth’s • The Scorpion
equator being tilted by 23 and a half • November 23 to November 29
degrees from the plane of Earth’s orbit
around the sun. • OPHIUCHUS

• In astrology, a person’s star sign is one • The Serpent Bearer

of the 12 zodiac signs that the sun is in • November 29 to December 17
during the birthdate.
• SAGITTARIUS
• The dates for each zodiac are well
known. These dates will change by one • The Archer
day every 70 years.
• December 17 to January 20
• PISCES
• CAPRICORNUS
• The Fishes
• The Sea Goat
• March 11 to April 18
• January 20 to February 16
• ARIES
• AQUARIUS
• The Ram
• The Water Bearer
• April 18 to May 13
• February 16 to March 11
• TAURUS
FACTORS THAT CAUSE THE CHANGING
• The Bull POSITIONS OF CONSTELLATIONS

• May 13 to June 21 • The position of the constellations vary

throughout the year because the Earth
travels about 960km in its elliptical orbit
around the sun.

• GEMINI • Most of the faint stars are regarded as

the truly fixed ones and are used as a
• The Twins reference frame for the minute motions
• June 21 to July 20 of nearby stars known as proper
motion.
• CANCER
• SIDEREAL DAY
• The Crab
• It represents the time taken by
• July 20 to August 10 the earth to rotate on its axis
relative to the stars, and is
• LEO
almost four minutes shorter
• The Lion than the solar day because of
the earth's orbital motion.
• August 10 to September 16
• SOLAR DAY
• VIRGO

• The Virgin
 • It is the time between sphere centered on Earth with
successive meridian transits of the stars placed on this sphere.
the sun at a particular place.
UNIQUE CULTURE AND BELIEF SYSTEM
• The position of the sun in the
• During the primitive time, people are
sky changes by 360 degrees
being curious about what comprises the
every 24 hours.
sky at night.
• The difference between sidereal days
• Our ancestors divided the stars into
and solar days causes the positions of
shapes, grouped them and name these
the stars to change each month relative
constellations without even knowing
to solar time.
about astronomy.
• As the Earth completes a rotation on it’s
• Some of the pioneers in studying the
axis, it has also moved 1 degree relative
galactic space are the ancient Greeks
to the position of the sun, thus making
and Romans.
the constellations move slowly in the
sky in a particular period of time in • Moreover, constellations also caught
successive days. the interest of Chinese and Japanese.
• Over the course of a month, the • Every culture has its own perspective
position of the stars at a given time will about the things in space, and how they
shift by roughly 30 degrees. interpret the constellations and other
phenomenon reflect their belief system,
ASTRONOMY VS ASTROLOGY
culture and geographical position on
• ASTRONOMY Earth.

• The scientific study of objects in • Ancient people used constellations for

the universe religious purposes.

• ASTROLOGY • During the fifth century BCE,

Babylonians astrologers started to
• Refers to the study of how the
identify the different horoscopes that
heavenly bodies affects or
we know today.
influence peoples personalities
and lives. • We inherited the names of our
constellations from the Greeks, and
• ASTRONOMY
they name the constellations after their
• Based on scientific method of mythological heroes and legends.
observation, deduction and
• Before, constellations were used as
experiment.
calendars when it came to agricultural
• It is a science that can make purposes.
verifiable predictions and the
• People have no proper way to sow and
data collected through
harvest except by looking at the stars.
astronomy is validated with
much more scientific field USES OF CONSTELLATIONS TO PEOPLE TODAY
known as astrophysics.
• To track artificial satellites
• ASTROLOGY
• To indicate general direction
• Based on the number of
• To locate certain stars or galaxies
assumptions that have been
discredited in the last 2,000
years or so.

• It was formulated when the sky

was thought to be a crystal