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29.2 - Stars Star • A star is a ___________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ • • Appear to be tiny specks of white light Most vary in color and are much larger than Earth Motion • Stars move through the night sky towards the west • Stars rotate around the North Star, Polaris – _____________________________ = stars that circle around Polaris • Because of the earth’s rotation, some stars are not visible during particular seasons Constellations • _____________________________ • Location changes throughout the year due to Earth’s orbit – _____________________________n • 3000 years ago, people observed and recorded shifting patterns – Knew when to plant, harvest, and celebrate rituals based on location of constellations Constellations • Astronomers recognize _____________________________ • Constellations are named for ____________________________ __________________________________________________________ – Most do not look like what they are named for Common Constellations • Ursa Major (Big Dipper) • Ursa Minor (Little Dipper) • Draco the Dragon • Orion • Zodiac Animals Constellation stars • Astronomers use constellations to locate _____________________________ • Stars within a constellation are named according to _____________________________ – Brightest star is labeled alpha – Next brightest beta and so on • Some constellation stars have individual names – Polaris (North star) in the Little Dipper Star Clusters • _____________________________________________________________________ __________________ cannot distinguish the distance a star is from earth • Clusters are stars close to each other due to gravitational attraction Binary Stars • _____________________________ – Pairs of stars that revolve around one another – Gravitationally bound & orbiting a common center of mass • Used to determine _____________________________ • Appear as a single star to the human eye Distance • Astronomers use different methods to measure the distance between stars and Earth Distance to Stars • Distance to stars from Earth is measured in Light-years – Light-year = ______________________________________________ – Light-year = 9.461 x 1015 m Light • Light travels 9.5 trillion km in one year – Speed of light = 300,000 km/s – Sun is 8 light-minutes away because it takes 8 minutes for the sunlight to reach Earth • Parsec = _____________________________= 3.086 x1016 m Parallax • ____________________________________________________ caused by motion of observer • Change in position of Earth as it orbits – Closer stars have larger change in parallax – Farther stars have smaller change in parallax • Distance determined by angle of change