Download Birth of Stars

• A star is an object
from space
• Made up of hot
gases and dust
• The core is like a
thermonuclear
reactor, (a nuclear
reactor that uses
controlled nuclear
fusion to generate
energy)
• 9000 billion stars
have formed over
13.7 billion years
• Space is filled with
interstellar matter,
(matter occurring
between the stars
of our Galaxy)
made up of gas
Far away stars.
• A luminous, (Glowing)
sphere held together
by gravity
• The eye can only see
2000 stars in the sky at
a time
Close up stars
• There are stars hotter
and cooler than the
Sun
Sun
• Begins to form from
materials in a
nebula (cloud of
dust) when gravity
starts acting on
chunks of dust and
gas pulling them
together
Star being born
• Mass grows and material
collapses on itself and
contracts, (Shrink)
• Early phase of a star:
Protostar, (Proto means
earliest)
• If mass stays small, the
protostar may shrink
away never being a full
star
Birth of Stars (Both)
• If a protostar
collects enough
mass of dust and
gas, the core will
reach about 10
million degrees
celceuis
• Atoms fuse, (Mix or
Melt) together to
create one large
atom
Stars (All 3
pictures)
• The biggest star yet
found is VY Canis
Marjoris
• The Sun is the
VY Canis
Marjoris
(Above)
average size of a
star
• The smallest stars are
called tiny red
dwarfs
Sun
Tiny Red
Dwarf Star
• A star needs as
much as 7.5% mass
of the sun for the
star to be able to
support nuclear
fusion in its core
• If it’s below this
mass then you get
a failed brown
dwarf star
Star Sizes
• A red dwarf star known
as Proxima Centauri is
the closest star to the
Earth
• The Sun has a diameter
of 1.4 million Km across
Proxima Centaui
• When the sun nears the
end of its life it will bloat
up as a red giant, and
grow to 300 times its
original size which will
engulf Mercury, Venus
and Earth
Exploding Sun
• Stars are a part of the
universe, mankind
needs them
Supernovas
(Both
Pictures)
• Stars like Supernovas
are needed because
the oxygen you
breathe, carbon in
your bones, and
hydrogen in the water
you drink all resulted
from the death of a Supernova: A rare explosion of most of
star
the material in a star, causing an
extremely bright, short-lived object
that emits large amounts of energy.

1: In your own words, summarize what a star is. At least 4
sentences.

2: What are the first 3 main steps in the process of the birth of a
star?

3: The term “Nebula” means _______ & _______.




a: Gas & Rocks
c: Hydrogen & Iron
Answer:_______
b: Dust & Gas
d: Carbon & Iron
4: What is the name of the biggest star that has been found
called?
5: Why are stars are needed in the universe?

Answer Key.

1: A star is a luminous, (Glowing) sphere held together by gravity. The eye can only see 2000
stars in the sky at a time. The most common known star is the Sun. 9000 billion stars have
formed over 13.7 billion years. Space is filled with interstellar matter, (matter occurring
between the stars of our Galaxy) made up of gas.


2: A star begins to form from materials in a nebula (cloud of dust) when gravity starts acting
on chunks of dust and gas pulling them together.
Mass grows and material collapses on itself and contracts, (Shrink).
Atoms fuse, (Mix or Melt) together to create one large atom.

3: b: Dust & Gas.

4: The biggest star that has been found is called VY Canis Marjoris.

5: Stars are a part of the universe, mankind needs them. Stars like Supernovas, (Supernova: A
rare explosion of most of the material in a star, causing an extremely bright, short-lived object
that emits large amounts of energy) are needed because the oxygen you breathe, carbon in
your bones, and hydrogen in the water you drink all resulted from the death of a star.

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l2/stars.html
http://www.oarval.org/star.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/21008/data/star/birth.htm
http://www.universetoday.com/25331/size-of-stars/
http://www.google.ca/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi
http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/labs/star_life/starlife_end.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCz-uXRf4rA
BC Science 9 – McGraw-Hill Ryerson Text Book