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The Pistol Star
The
Pistol
Star
By: Natalie Nepa
By: Natalie Nepa
The Pistol Star
• The Pistol star is located
near the center of the
Milky way galaxy.
• It was discovered by the
Hubble Space telescope
in the early 1900s.
• It is 10 million times more
brighter than the Sun.
• The Pistol Star is 4 million
years old.
Size of Pistol Star
• The Pistol Star is about
340 times the diameter
of the Sun.
• Total, it is about 100
times more massive
that the sun.
• The Pistol Star is big
enough to fill the
diameter of the Earth’s
orbit.
Distance from Sun
• The Pistol Star is about
25,000 light years away
from the Sun.
• Even though its so far
away the Pistol Star
would still be visible to
the naked eye if not for
all the dust blocking it.
Color
• The Pistol Star is a bright
white.
(most of the bright white
cannot be seen because of
the dust)
Temperature
• The temperature of the Pistol Star is between
14-21,000 Kelvin.
• The temperature of the Sun is about 5,800
Kelvin.
• The Pistol Star is much hotter that the Sun.
Luminosity
Pistol Star
Sun
H-R Diagram
Constellation
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The Pistol Star is in one of the Zodiac
constellations Sagittarius.
It is a picture the centaur (half man half
horse) named Chiron.
Chiron was accidentally shot by Hercules.
The arrow had poison on it. Chiron was
suffering. He was an immortal (unable to
die) so he could no be relieved with death.
Chiron offered himself as a replacement
for Prometheus. Prometheus was
punished for giving fire to man. His
punishment was being chained to a rock.
Each day an eagle would come and eat his
liver and each night it would grow back.
Jupiter(a god) had agreed to release
Prometheus if a substitute could be found.
Chiron gave up his immortality and went
as a substitute for Prometheus. In
recognition of Chiron’s “godness”, Jupiter
placed him in the stars.
The bottom track
is the cycle that
the Pistol Star is
going through.
Life Cycle of the Pistol Star
The Pistol Star is currently in the Supergiant phase. The star was born
from a Stellar Nebula and it will die into a Neutron Star or a Black Hole.
Bibliography
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Bell, Cathy. "Sagittarius." Comfychair.org. Web. 23 Nov. 2009.
<http://comfychair.org/~cmbell/myth/sagittarius.html>.
"Pistol Star." Web. 23 Nov. 2009.
<http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/P/Pistol_Star.html>.
The StarChild Team. "StarChild Question of the Month for May 2000."
Starchild.com. Web. 23 Nov. 2009.
<http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question21.html>.
Figer, Don F. "Hubble Identifies What May Be the Most Luminous Star Known."
Hubblesite.org. NASA, 8 Oct. 1997. Web. 23 Nov. 2009.
<http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1997/33>.
Wikipedia. "Pistol Star." En.wilipedia.org. Web. 23 Nov. 2009.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pistol_Star>.
"Pistol Star." Jumk.de. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. <http://jumk.de/astronomie/bigstars/pistol-star.shtml>.