The Sun And Stars Flashcards
Which stage of evolution will the Sun be starting five billion years from now?
It will slowly start to expand into a red giant star.
Where on the Herzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram will the more massive main sequence stars be located?
At high temperatures and luminosity in the upper left.
Which luminosity class would be where stars with the largest radii on the H-R diagram be found?
Class I
Why are sunspots dark?
They are cooler regions than the photosphere
How long does the Sun’s sunspot cycle last?
11 years
Why are T Taurus stars important to our understanding of the evolution of the Sun?
They are at an intermediate stage between protostars and low-mass main sequence stars like the Sun.
Describe a protostar.
Lower temperatures than an ordinary star.
Which type of low-mass object is also known as a failed star?
Brown dwarf
What kind of star is the Sun?
Low mass, main sequence
In the Eagle nebula, there are clusters of stars appearing out of the pillars of gas. What is a characteristic of these stars?
They are going massive stars at the beginning of their lives.
Which color are sun-like main sequence stars in the middle of their lifespans?
Yellow
What are substellar objects that occupy the mass range between the heaviest gas giant planters and the lightest stars?
Brown dwarfs
A large star can start to fuse heavier and heavier elements as it runs out of its supply of hydrogen and helium.
Which element is the heaviest that can be formed and when it is created leads to the death of the star?
Iron
