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    Unit 3 Text Questions

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    Tori Hubbard
    Stars are balls of burning gas made mostly of hydrogen and helium. Due to Earth's rotation, stars appear to move across the sky, though distant stars remain stationary. Astronomers create sky maps by dividing the celestial sphere into constellations. A star's appearance depends on its elemental composition, as different elements absorb and emit different wavelengths of light. The Spitzer space telescope captured the first pictures of a star's birth in 2004.

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    Unit 3 Text Questions

    Uploaded by

    Tori Hubbard
    52 views2 pages
    Stars are balls of burning gas made mostly of hydrogen and helium. Due to Earth's rotation, stars appear to move across the sky, though distant stars remain stationary. Astronomers create sky maps by dividing the celestial sphere into constellations. A star's appearance depends on its elemental composition, as different elements absorb and emit different wavelengths of light. The Spitzer space telescope captured the first pictures of a star's birth in 2004.

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    Stars are balls of burning gas made mostly of hydrogen and helium. Due to Earth's rotation, stars appear to move across the sky, though distant stars remain stationary. Astronomers create sky maps by dividing the celestial sphere into constellations. A star's appearance depends on its elemental composition, as different elements absorb and emit different wavelengths of light. The Spitzer space telescope captured the first pictures of a star's birth in 2004.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    52 views2 pages

    Unit 3 Text Questions

    Uploaded by

    Tori Hubbard
    Stars are balls of burning gas made mostly of hydrogen and helium. Due to Earth's rotation, stars appear to move across the sky, though distant stars remain stationary. Astronomers create sky maps by dividing the celestial sphere into constellations. A star's appearance depends on its elemental composition, as different elements absorb and emit different wavelengths of light. The Spitzer space telescope captured the first pictures of a star's birth in 2004.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Unit Three: Text Questions

    Review Questions:

    What are stars made from?


    - Stars are balls of burning gas made mostly from hydrogen and helium.

    Why do stars appear to move across the sky?


    - Due to the Earth's rotation, stars appear to move across the sky. The stars close to Earth
    appear to move, whereas the stars far away appear to be stationary.

    What are sky maps? How are they made?


    - Sky maps help to locate, identify, name and plot stars/constellations. Astronomers create sky
    maps by sectioning the celestial sphere into 88 different areas. (Every portion of the sky belongs
    within a particular constellation.)

    How does a star's appearance change based on the elements inside


    it?
    - Stars are made of mostly hydrogen gas, but may include other elements (such as helium, or
    calcium). Elements in a star absorb different wavelengths of light, which emit different colors. As
    a result, astronomers can tell what elements comprise a star.

    How were the Spitzer telescope pictures important to understanding


    stars?
    - The Spitzer telescope is an infrared telescope that can photograph different temperatures. In
    2004, the Spitzer space telescope captured the first pictures of a star's birth.

    Critical Thinking Questions

    How does the life cycle of a star compare to that of a human?


    - Similar to humans, stars are born, grow up, and die. Nebulae (clouds of dust and gas) give
    birth to stars; a star is born when nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium begins. When stars are
    grown up (also known as the main sequence phase), they are fueled by nuclear fusion of
    hydrogen for many millions of years. Small stars live longer than big stars because they burn up
    their hydrogen more slowly. When a star has used up its hydrogen, it enters "old age." Small
    stars experience an anticlimactic death by becoming a white dwarf then cooling down and
    becoming a brown dwarf. Massive stars can experience a violent death by exploding in a
    supernova, which scatters the star's remains across the galaxy. (If the exploding star is huge, it
    can create a black hole.) The matter spread by this explosion leads to the next generation of
    stars. When humans reach old age, their cells die off similar to the depletion of hydrogen in
    stars. Some humans die peacefully in their sleep, similar to small stars. Other humans die
    tragically, similar to exploding supernovas. Finally, just like in human families, as one generation
    of stars die the next generation is born.
    What is the likelihood that black holes exist in our galaxy? Explain
    your response.
    - Astronomers used to think that massive stars were rare, but recent research suggests that
    there are more massive stars than previously thought. Black Holes form when massive stars die
    in a supernova. The dying star becomes extremely tiny and dense; its gravity is so strong that
    not even light can escape, that it is why it is called a "black hole." Black holes can grow larger
    by sucking in gas, dust and nearby stars; some black holes even suck in other black holes.
    Cosmologists believe that super-massive black holes exist at the center of most galaxies. Based
    on observations of star movement near the center of our galaxy, it is highly likely that the Milky
    Way has at least one black hole.

    How do massive stars change the atmosphere?


    - Massive stars are responsible for the production of many elements including oxygen and
    carbon. Our sun, which is an average sized star, contains mostly hydrogen and helium. Massive
    stars experience nuclear fusion at a quicker rate than average stars which causes them to
    become hotter and create more energy. This excess heat and energy results in a supernova--or
    a big explosion, which distributes the massive star's elements into the universe. Without
    massive stars, the earth's atmosphere would not contain the necessary elements (oxygen and
    carbon) to sustain life.

    How are constellations an important part of history?


    - Many ancient cultures (such as the Romans and Greeks) noticed arrangements of stars that
    made patterns, which they called constellations. The constellations are named after historical
    people, places, myths, legends, or astronomers. One of the most famous constellations is
    Orion, who was a mythological Greek hunter. Other famous constellations include the twelve
    zodiac signs. Constellations tell stories about the past and the future (depending on if one
    believes in astrology). They were especially important for predicting the coming of the seasons
    for agricultural planning, as well as, navigating ships across the oceans to discover new
    continents.

    What is nuclear fusion? Why is this process important to stars?


    -Nuclear fusion occurs when multiple Hydrogen atoms are forced together, under extremely
    high pressure and temperatures, to form one Helium atom. Nuclear fusion is vital to stars
    because it is responsible for the massive amounts of heat and light energy that stars emit.
    Nuclear fusion takes place in a star's core. When a star dies, its elements are scattered into the
    universe. Their remnants are to be used again in the birth of new stars.

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