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Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Analyzing Starlight • star a large celestial body that is composed of gas and that emits light. • Nuclear fusion is the combination of light atomic nuclei to form heavier atomic nuclei • Astronomers learn about stars primarily by analyzing the light that the stars emit. • Starlight passing through a spectrograph produces a display of colors and lines called a spectrum. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Analyzing Starlight, continued • All stars have dark-line spectra, which are bands of color crossed by dark lines where the color is diminished. • A star’s dark-line spectrum reveals the star’s composition and temperature. • Stars are made up of different elements in the form of gases. • Because different elements absorb different wavelengths of light, scientists can determine the elements that make up a star by studying its spectrum. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Analyzing Starlight, continued The Compositions of Stars • Scientists have learned that stars are made up of the same elements that compose Earth. • The most common element in stars is hydrogen. • Helium is the second most common element in star. • Small quantities of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen are also found in stars. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Analyzing Starlight, continued The Temperatures of Stars • The surface temperature of a star is indicated by its color. • Most star temperatures range from 2,800 ˚C to 24,000 ˚C. • Blue stars have average surface temperatures of 35,000 ˚C. • Yellow stars, such as the sun, have surface temperatures of about 5,500 ˚C. • Red stars have average surface temperatures of 3,000 ˚C. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Analyzing Starlight, continued The Sizes and Masses of stars • Stars vary in size and mass. • Stars such as the sun are considered medium-sized stars. The sun has a diameter of 1,390,000 km. • Most of the stars you can see in the night sky are medium-sized stars. • Many stars also have about the same mass as the sun, however some stars may be more or less massive. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Stellar Motion Apparent Motion • The apparent motion of stars, or motion as it appears from Earth, is caused by the movement of Earth. • The stars seem as though they are moving counterclockwise around a central star called Polaris, the North Star. Polaris is almost directly above the North Pole, and thus the star does not appear to move much. • Earth’s revolution around the sun causes the stars to appear to shift slightly to the west at a given time every night. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Stellar Motion, continued Circumpolar Stars • Some stars are always visible in the night sky. These stars never pass below the horizon. • In the Northern Hemisphere, the movement of these stars makes them appear to circle the North Star. • These circling stars are called circumpolar stars. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Stellar Motion, continued Actual Motion of Stars • Most stars have several types of actual motion. • Stars move across the sky (seen only for close stars). • Some stars may revolve around another star. • Stars either move away from or toward our solar system. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Stellar Motion, continued Actual Motion of Stars • Doppler effect an observed change in the frequency of a wave when the source or observer is moving • The spectrum of a star that is moving toward or away from Earth appears to shift, due to the Doppler effect. • Stars moving toward Earth are shifted slightly toward blue, which is called blue shift. • Stars moving away from Earth are shifted slightly toward red, which is called red shift. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Stellar Motion, continued The spectrum of a star that is moving toward or away from Earth appears to shift, as shown in the diagram below. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Distances to Stars • Distances between the stars and Earth are measured in light-years. • light-year the distance that light travels in one year. • Because the speed of light is 300,000 km/s, light travels about 9.46 trillion km in one year. • For relatively close stars, scientists determine a star’s distance by measuring parallax. • parallax an apparent shift in the position of an object when viewed from different locations. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Stellar Brightness • apparent magnitude the brightness of a star as seen from the Earth • The apparent magnitude of a star depends on both how much light the star emits and how far the star is from Earth. • absolute magnitude the brightness that a star would have at a distance of 32.6 light-years from Earth • The brighter a star is, the lower the number of its absolute magnitude. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Stellar Brightness The lower the number of the star on the scale shown on the diagram below, the brighter the star appears to observers. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Classifying Stars • One way scientists classify stars is by plotting the surface temperatures of stars against their luminosity, or the total amount of energy they give off each second. • The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, or H-R diagram, is a simplified version of the graph that illustrates the resulting pattern. • Most stars fall within a band that runs diagonally through the middle of the H-R diagram. • main sequence the location on the H-R diagram where most stars lie; it has a diagonal pattern from the lower right to the upper left. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Classifying Stars, continued Section 1 Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Star Formation • nebula a large cloud of gas and dust in interstellar space; a region in space where stars are born • A star beings in a nebula. When the nebula is compressed, some of the particles move close to each other and are pulled together by gravity. • As described in Newton’s law of universal gravitation, as gravity pulls particles of the nebula closer together, the attraction on each other increases. • This pulls more nearby particles toward an area of increasing mass, and regions of dense matter begin to build up within the nebula. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Star Formation, continued Protostars • As gravity makes dense regions within a nebula more compact, these regions spin and shrink and begin to form a flattened disk. The disk has a central concentration of matter called a protostar. • The protostar continues to contract and increase in temperature for several million years. Eventually the gas in the region becomes so hot that its electrons are stripped from their parent atoms. • The nuclei and free electrons move independently, and the gas is then considered a separate state of matter called plasma. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Star Formation, continued The Birth of a Star • A protostar’s temperature continually increases until it reaches about 10,000,000 °C. • At this temperature, nuclear fusion begins. Nuclear fusion is a process in which less-massive atomic nuclei combine to form more-massive nuclei. The process releases enormous amounts of energy. • The onset of nuclear fusion marks the birth of a star. Once this process begins, it can continue for billions of years. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Star Formation, continued A Delicate Balancing Act • As gravity increases the pressure on the matter within the star, the rate of fusion increase. • In turn, the energy radiated from fusion reactions heats the gas inside the star. • The outward pressures of the radiation and the hot gas resist the inward pull of gravity. • This equilibrium makes the star stable in size. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 The Main-Sequence Stage • The second and longest stage in the life of a star is the main-sequence stage. During this stage, energy continues to be generated in the core of the star as hydrogen fuses into helium. • A star that has a mass about the same as the sun’s mass stays on the main sequence for about 10 billion years. • Scientists estimate that over a period of almost 5 billion years, the sun has converted only 5% of its original hydrogen nuclei into helium nuclei. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Leaving the Main Sequence • A star enters its third stage when about 20% of the hydrogen atoms within its core have fused into helium atoms. Giant Stars • A star’s shell of gases grows cooler as it expands. As the gases in the outer shell become cooler, they begin to glow with a reddish color. These stars are known as giants. • giant a very large and bright star whose hot core has used most of its hydrogen. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Leaving the Main Sequence, continued Supergiants • Main-sequence stars that are more massive than the sun will become larger than giants in their third stage. • These highly luminous stars are called supergiants. These stars appear along the top of the H-R diagram. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 The Final Stages of a Sunlike Star • In the evolution of a medium-sized star, fusion in the core will stop after the helium atoms have fused into carbon and oxygen. Planetary Nebulas • As the star’s outer gases drift away, the remaining core heats these expanding gases. • The gases appear as a planetary nebula, a cloud of gas that forms around a sunlike star that is dying. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 The Final Stages of a Sunlike Star, continued White Dwarfs • As a planetary nebula disperses, gravity causes the remaining matter in the star to collapse inward until it cannot be pressed further together. • A hot, extremely dense core of matter—a white dwarf—is left. White dwarfs shine for billions of years before they cool completely. • white dwarf a small, hot, dim star that is the leftover center of an old sunlike star Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 The Final Stages of a Sunlike Star, continued Novas and Supernovas • If a white dwarf star revolves around a red giant, the gravity of the white dwarf may capture gases from the red giant. • As these gases accumulate on the surface of the white dwarf, pressure begins to build up. • This pressure may cause large explosions, called a nova. • nova a star that suddenly becomes brighter Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 The Final Stages of a Sunlike Star, continued Novas and Supernovas, continued • A white dwarf may also become a supernova, which is a star that has such a tremendous explosion that it blows itself apart. • Supernovas are a thousand times more violent than novas. • The explosions of supernovas completely destroy the white dwarf star and may destroy much of the red giant. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 The Final Stages of Massive Stars Supernovas in Massive Stars • Massive stars may produce supernovas as part of their life cycle. • After the supergiant stage, the star collapses, producing such high temperatures that nuclear fusion begins again. This time, carbon atoms in the core fuse into heavier elements until the core is almost entirely made of iron. • When nuclear fusion stops, the star’s core begins to collapse under its own gravity. This causes the outer layers to explode outward with tremendous force. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Supernova as seen in a galaxy Section 1 Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 The Final Stages of Massive Stars, continued Neutron Stars • Stars more massive than the sun do not become white dwarfs. • After a star explodes as a supernova, the core may contract into a neutron star. • neutron star a star that has collapsed under gravity to the point that the electrons and protons have smashed together to form neutrons Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Neutron Star Section 1 Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Neutron Star Cross section Section 1 Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe The Final Stages of Massive Stars, continued Section 1 Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 The Final Stages of Massive Stars, continued Pulsars • Some neutron stars emit a beam of radio waves that sweeps across space and are detectable here on Earth. • pulsar a rapidly spinning neutron star that emits pulses of radio and optical energy • These stars are called pulsars. For each pulse detected on Earth, we know that the star has rotated within that period. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 The Final Stages of Massive Stars, continued Black Holes • Some massive stars produce leftovers too massive to become a stable neutron star. • These stars contract, and the force of the contraction leaves a black hole. • black hole an object so massive and dense that even light cannot escape its gravity Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Black Hole Section 1 Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Black Hole Section 1 Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Constellations Dividing Up the Sky • constellation one of 88 regions into which the skay has been divided in order to describe the locations of celestial objects; a group of stars organized in a recognizable pattern • In 1930, astronomers around the world agreed upon a standard set of 88 constellations. • You can use a map of the constellations to locate a particular star. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Constellations, continued The Constellation Orion Section 1 Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Multiple-Star Systems • When two or more stars are closely associated, they form multiple-star systems. • Binary stars are pairs of stars that revolve around each other and are held together by gravity. The center of mass, or barycenter, is somewhere between the two stars. • In star systems that have more than two stars, two stars may revolve rapidly around a common barycenter, while a third star revolves more slowly at a greater distance from the pair. • Astronomers estimate that more than half of all sunlike stars are part of multiple-star systems. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Star Clusters • Sometimes, nebulas collapse to form groups of hundreds or thousands of stars called clusters. • Globular clusters have a spherical shape and can contain up to one million stars. • An open cluster is loosely shaped and rarely contains more than a few hundred stars. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Galaxies • galaxy a collection of stars, dust, and gas bound together by gravity • Galaxies are the major building blocks of the universe. • A typical galaxy, such as the Milky Way, has a diameter of about 100,000 light-years and may contain more than 200 billion stars. • Astronomers estimate that the universe contains hundreds of billions of galaxies. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Galaxies, continued Distances to Galaxies • Giant stars called Cepheid variables brighten and fade in a regular pattern. Most Cepheids have regular cycles. The longer the cycle, the brighter the star’s absolute magnitude. • Scientists compare the Cepheid’s absolute magnitude and the Cepheid’s apparent magnitude to calculate the distance to the Cepheid variable. • This distance tells scientists the distance to the galaxy in which the Cepheid is located. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Galaxies, continued Types of Galaxies • Galaxies are classified by shape into three main types. • A spiral galaxy has a nucleus of bright stars and flattened arms that spiral around the nucleus. • Elliptical galaxies vary in shape, from nearly spherical to very elongated, are extremely bright in the center, and do not have spiral arms. • An irregular galaxy has no particular shape, and is fairly rich in dust and gas. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Galaxies, continued The Milky Way • The Milky Way galaxy is a spiral galaxy in which the sun is one of hundreds of billions of stars. • Each star orbits around the center of the Milky Way galaxy. It takes the sun about 225 million years to complete one orbit around the galaxy. • Two irregular galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud and Small Magellanic Cloud, are our closest neighbors. • Within 5 million light-years of the Milky Way are about 30 other galaxies. These galaxies and the Milky Way galaxy are collectively called the Local Group. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Quasars • quasar quasi-stellar radio source; a very luminous object that produces energy at a high rate • Quasars appear as points of light, similar to stars. Some quasars project a jet of gas. • Quasars are located in the centers of galaxies that are distant from Earth. Galaxies that have quasars in them differ from other galaxies in that the quasars in their centers are very bright. • Quasars are among the most distant objects that have been observed from Earth. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Hubble’s Observations • cosmology the study of the origin, properties, processes, and evolution of the universe • Cosmologists and astronomers can use the light given off by an entire galaxy to create the spectrum for that galaxy. • Edwin Hubble used galactic spectra to uncover new information about our universe. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Hubble’s Observations, continued Measuring Red Shifts • Hubble found that the spectra of galaxies, except for the few closest to Earth, were shifted toward the red end of the spectrum. • Hubble determined the speed at which the galaxies were moving away from Earth. • Hubble found that the most distant galaxies showed the greatest red shift and thus were moving away from Earth the fastest. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 Hubble’s Observations, continued The Expanding Universe • Using Hubble’s observations, astronomers have been able to determine that the universe is expanding. • The expanding universe can be thought of as a raisin cake rising in the oven. If you were able to sit on one raisin, you would see all the other raisins moving away from you. • Similarly, galaxies in the universe are moving farther away from each other due to the expansion of the universe. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 A Theory Emerges • Although cosmologists have proposed several different theories to explain the expansion of the universe, the current and most widely accepted is the big bang theory. • big bang theory the theory that all matter and energy in the universe was compressed into an extremely small volume that 3 to 15 billion years ago exploded and began expanding in all directions • By the mid-20th century, almost all astronomers and cosmologists accepted the big bang theory. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 A Theory Emerges, continued Cosmic Background Radiation cosmic background radiation radiation uniformly detected from every direction in space; considered a remnant of the big bang • Astronomers believe that cosmic background radiation formed shortly after the big bang. • The background radiation has cooled after the big bang, and is now about 270 °C below zero. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 A Theory Emerges, continued Ripples in Space • Maps of cosmic background radiation over the whole sky look very smooth. But on satellite maps that show where temperatures differ from the average background temperature, “ripples” become apparent. • These ripples are irregularities caused by small fluctuations in the distribution of matter in the early universe. • The ripples are thought to indicate the first stages in the formation of the universe’s first galaxies. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe A Theory Emerges, continued Timeline of the Big Bang Section 1 Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 A Universe of Surprises Dark Matter • Analysis of the ripples in the cosmic background radiation suggests that the matter that humans, the planets, the stars and the matter between the stars makes up only 4% of the universe. • About 23% of the universe is made up of a type of matter that does not give off light but that has gravity. This type of matter is called dark matter. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Section 1 A Universe of Surprises, continued Dark Energy • Most of the universe is made up of an unknown material called dark energy. • Scientists think that dark energy acts as a force that opposes gravity. Many scientists think that some form of undetectable dark energy is pushing galaxies apart. • Because of dark energy, the universe is not only expanding, but the rate of expansion also seems to be accelerating. Stars, Galaxies, and the Universe Maps In Action The Milky Way Section 1