3rd Six Weeks Flashcards
(56 cards)
What a star is made up of
A typical star is a giant ball of hot gas, made mostly of hydrogen and
helium, the two lightest atoms
Hottest stars
Blue stars
Coolest stars
Red stars
Moderate stars
Yellow stars
Light year
About 9.46 trillion kilometers
Nebula
A large cloud of gas and dust. Gravity pulls the gas and dust together
A star starts of as a
Nebula
Stage 2 of a star
If the cloud of gas and dust has enough mass, it becomes a protostar.
A star forms when
Nuclear fusion begins, using the energy released as fuel to
burn. More massive stars burn faster than less massive stars.
Depending on its mass, a protostar becomes either
a
massive star or a sun-like star
Stage 3 of a star ( sun-like star)
A sun-like star becomes a red giant when it begins to run out of fuel. Eventually, it becomes a planetary nebula, and finally a white dwarf
Stage 3 of a star (massive star)
A massive star becomes a red supergiant when it runs out of fuel. After exploding In a supernova, it becomes a neutron star or black hole depending on it’s mass
Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram (HR graph)
Used to classify stars
Temperature of stars as they go left on the HR graph
Stars get hotter
Temperature of stars as they go right
Stars get cooler
Going up and down the HR graph
The luminosity of the star ( the amount of energy It gives off of its surface)
White dwarfs
Hot but not very luminous
Where white dwarfs are located on the HR graph
Lower left of the graph
Giants and supergiants
More luminous, cooler, and tend to be more massive
Where Giants and supergiants are located on the HR graph
Top right of the graph
Main sequence
Surface temperature increases as luminosity increases
Temperature of a red star
3,000k
Temperature of a yellow star
5,000k
Temperature of a blue star
10,000k
