How did the

universe begin??
There
There are
are three
three main
main theories
theories of
of the
the origin
origin of
of the
the universe.
universe.

Big Bang theory

Steady State theory
Creation theory

Steady State Theory

The universe has always

been as it is today
New matter is always
being produced
The universe is
continuously contracting

Big Bang Theory

Billions of years ago the universe was

packed in a small space-Primeval
Atom
It explodes and threw matter in all
directions
The explosion caused the formation of
the galaxies.

Creation Theory

God created the Heavens

and the Earth.
Adam and Eve
Religion

The universe is made

up of millions of
Galaxies.
A galaxy is a swarm of
billions of stars, clouds and
dust rotating around a

Our galaxy is
called the Milky
Way
Our WHOLE solar
system is located
right about here

Life of a star

Stars go through four different

stages in their lifetime.
The four stages are:

Yellow Star
Red Giant
White Dwarf
Black Dwarf

Yellow Star

Medium-Hot star.
Nuclear reaction
occurring
Our Star (sun) is
a yellow star.

RED GIANT

As nuclear fuel is used up,

star expands and turns red
Lasts for about 100 million
years
When our sun is a Red Giant,
it will expand and swallow up
the inner planetsMercury,

White Dwarf

Most of the stars fuel in

the outer layers is used
up
Shrinks and collapses
(about the size of Earth
but heavier)

Black Dwarf

Remaining
fuel is used
up
Star is dead

Basic Sun
Facts

The Sun is 93
million miles away
from Earth. (It takes
sunlight 8.5 minutes
to reach Earth.)
Surface
Temperature:
10,000 degrees (F)

HOT STUFF!!!

Core Temp:
22,000,000 degrees
Corona Temp:
2,000,000 degrees

How Big is the Sun???

The Sun is HUGE!!!

Diameter of Sun: 865,000

miles across. 109 Earths would
fit across the Sun!!!
Circumference: 2,700,000
miles around the Sun
*** 1,300,000 Earths would fit

The Sun actually

moves!

Rotation: The Sun spins

around one time every 25
days.
Revolution: The Sun
moves around the center of
our galaxy one time every
200,000,000 years!

Parts of the Sun

Core
Convection Zone
Photosphere
Prominences
Sunspots
Solar Flares
Chromosphere
Corona

Core: Center of Sun, hottest part. Nuclear

fusion takes place
Convection Zone: Full of hot gases. Energy
released
Photosphere: Source of sunlight. Visible part
of Sun
Prominences: Flame-like gases that travel
outward
Sunspots: Darker, cooler areas of Sun
Solar Flares: Streams of charges atoms
Corona: Outer atmosphere
Chromosphere: Gases above the

Constellations & Stars

I. Constellations
Group of stars
that appear to
form a pattern in
the sky.
88 recognized by
International
Astronomy Union

A. Zodiac
Band of 12 constellations
along the ecliptic.

B. Ecliptic
the plane of the Earths orbit
around the sun
The apparent path that the sun
(and planets) appear to move
along against the star
background.

Ecliptic

C. Circumpolar
Constellations

Can be seen all year long

Never fully set below the horizon

Appear to move counter

clockwise around Polaris

Caused by Earths Rotation

Circumpolar Constellations

Examples of Circumpolar
Constellations
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Ursa Major The Big Bear

Ursa Minor The Little Bear
Cassiopeia Queen on Her Throne
Draco- The Dragon
Cepheus- The King

 # of stars seen as circumpolar

depends on the observers latitude
Further North the observer lives,
the more stars will appear
circumpolar
Earth turns west to east
Sky appears to turn east to west

D. Ursa Major

Best known constellation

Common name is Big Dipper
Pointer stars- front 2 stars of the
Big Dipper which point to Polaris
(North Star)

V. Kinds of
Stars
A. Red Giant - large red
star at least 10x
diameter of the sun
Old Stars
Ex. Aldebaran
The sun will swell
into a Red Giant
when it is old

B. Super Giant
Largest of all stars 100x more
luminous
Explode as a Super Nova
Can form Black Holes
Ex. Betelgeuse, Rigel, Polaris

C. Dwarf Stars
1.
2.
3.
4.

Less luminous
Very dense, mostly carbon
Tightly packed nuclei
Remains of a red giant that ran out of
fuel
5. 1 cup full of star =20 tons or 5
elephants.
6. Most are red/orange/yellow
7. White dwarf is the exception to the

Size Comparison of
Various Stars

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

"Twinkling Stars" are

due to Earth's
atmosphere

VIII. Life Cycle of a Medium Mass

Star
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Nebula
Protostar
New/Stable State Star
Red Giant
Planetary Nebula
White Dwarf
Black Dwarf

1. Nebulae (Plural of
Nebula)
Space gas seen as faint glowing
clouds
Mostly hydrogen
Star dust is extremely small,
smaller than a particle of smoke &
widely separated, with more than
300 ft.between individual
particles.
Nebulae still hinder star gazing
because they absorb light which
passes through them.

Types of Nebulae
Diffuse Nebula - gases glow from
stars w/in them
Ex. Nebula
found in
Sagittarius

Types of Nebulae
Dark Nebula nebula not near a
bright star
Ex. Horse Head
Nebula in Orion

2. Protostar
Shrinking gas balls, caused by a
swirl of gas forming dense areas.
The gravity of the dense swirl in
turn attracts nearby gases so a ball
forms.
Nuclear fusion occurs & Helium is
formed from Hydrogen
A new star is born in our galaxy
every 18 days

3. Stable State Star

Star that releases energy in enough
force to counter balance gravity
Star stops contracting
Also known as a main sequence
star
Ex. Sun

4. Planetary Nebula
The outer layers of the Red Giant
puff out more and more.
The star loses gravitational hold on
its outer layers and they get
pushed away by the pressure
exerted from solar winds

Planetary Nebula

5. White Dwarf
Fuel is used up
No nuclear fusion
occurring
Remaining heat
radiates into space

IX. Life Cycle of a

Massive Star
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

1st three steps are similar

Super Giant
Super Nova
Neutron Star / Pulsar
Black Hole

1. Super Giant
Rare stars, largest of all
100x more luminous
Only stars with a lot of mass can
become super giants
Some are almost as large as our
entire solar system
Ex. Betelgeuse & Rigel

2. Super Nova
Explosion from a massive Super
Giant
Outer layer blasts away at end of
Life Cycle
Emits light, heat, X-rays, &
neutrinos
Leaves behind a neutron
star or black hole

3. Neutron Star/ Pulsar

The remains of a super nova
Very small, super-dense star which
is composed mostly of tightlypacked neutrons
Rapidly spinning leftovers of a star
Emits energy in pulses

4. Black Hole
Occurs when a star's
remaining mass is
greater than three
times the mass
of the Sun
Star contracts tremendously
Incredibly dense with a gravitational
field so strong that even light
cannot escape.

Life Cycle of a Massive Star

X. Distance to stars
A. The Sun is closest star to Earth
B. Takes light 8 minutes to reach
Earth
C. Avg. distance:150,000,000Km =
1 AU distance from Earth to the
Sun
D.Next nearest star is Proxima
Centauri 4.2 light years away; it
can only be seen in the
southern hemisphere

E. Light year
The distance light has traveled in
a year
9.5 x 1012 Km/yr
Speed of light 300,000 Km /sec

XI. Physical Properties of

Stars
A. Nuclear fusion supplies the
energy for stars
Huge size & mass of a star
means outer layers press inward
w/ tremendous pressure
Hydrogen ignites
Star becomes a huge nuclear
bomb
Hydrogen nuclei combine to form

B. Color of star depends on surface temp.

1. Blue - hottest stars

Ex. Rigel in Orion; Vega in
Lyra; Sirius in Canis Major
2. Yellow - medium stars ex. Sun
3. Red - coolest stars
Ex. Betelgeuse in Orion,
Antares the heart of Scorpio,
Aldebaran in Taurus

C. Star size
-Varies, large range
Smallest can be
smaller than Earth
Largest may be 600,000,000 x
Earth.

D. The Sun
is an average
star
yellow in color
300,000 x the
mass of Earth

XIII. Galaxies
Systems containing millions or
billions of stars, gas, & dust held
together by gravity
Ex. Milky Way
There are great distances between
galaxies
The Milky Way belongs to a group
or cluster of galaxies called the
local group

Spiral Galaxy Like the Milky

Way

Three major classes of

galaxies:
1. Elliptical - shaped like large
ovals or football shape
2. Spiral - pinwheel shaped; our
sun is on a spiral arm of the
Milky Way
3. Irregular - many different
shapes that aren't like the other
two

XIV. Quasar
Quasi stellar radio source
Galaxies, very far away, with bright
centers
Thought to have a super massive black
hole at center
Most luminous objects known to man

ASSIGNMENT
NO. 1

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