Science 8: Life of a STAR
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- What do the remains of a supernova become?
- a neutron star
- How can you tell a star's temperature?
- by its color
- What is all of space and everything in it called?
- universe
- What can giants and super giants blow up into?
- supernovas
- What happens to the largest supernovas when they collapse?
- they become black holes
- What is a light year?
- the distance that light travels in one year
- Is a light year a unit of distance or time?
- a unit of distance
- What do astronomers use to measure distances to nearby stars?
- parallax
- What is parallax?
- The apparent change in position of an object when you look at it from different places.
- What are the main characteristics used to classify stars?
- size, temperature, and brightness
- What are very large stars called?
- giant stars or supergiant stars
- What are two important characteristics of stars?
- temperature and absolute magnitude
- What is the diagonal line formed by most of the stars in the H-R diagram called?
- the main sequence
- In the main sequence, does surface temperature increase or decrease as brightness increases?
- surface temperature increases as brightness increases
- What is nuclear fusion?
- The process in which hydrogen atoms in the stars combine to for helium and release energy.
- In nuclear fsion hydrogen atoms combine with what to release energy?
- helium
- What is the nebula?
- a swirling cloud of dust and gas
- As stars run out of fuel they expand to form what?
- red giants and supergiants
- The remains of the largest supernovas collapse and become what?
- black holes
- What is formed when gravity forces the dust and gases of a nebula together?
- a protostar
- What is so strong in a black hole that even light cannot escape?
- gravity
- True or false? Small and medium stars will become supernovas?
- false
- What gas is fuel for stars?
- helium
- A star's brightness as if it were a standard distance is called its what?
- absolute magnitude
- A huge group of stars, such as the Milky Way, is called what?
- a galaxy
- The unit used to measure distances between stars is a what?
- a light year
- The region of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram with the most stars is called the what?
- main sequence
- A graph of stars showing temperature on the X-axis and brightness on the Y-axis is called a what?
- Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram
- What is used to determine the distance to nearby stars?
- parallax
- The brightness of a star as seen from Earth is called its what?
- apparent magnitude
- Because of its large size, the star Aldebaran is often called a what?
- giant star
- How do all stars begin?
- as part of a nebula
- What is a nebula?
- a large cloud of dust and gas swirling in space
- What forces dust and gases together to form a protostar?
- gravity
- What does the length of a star's life depend upon?
- its mass
- Do stars with less mass live longer? Why?
- Yes because they use their fuel more slowly
- What happens when stars rn out of fuel? What is formed?
- The center shrinks but the outer part expands forming red giants or supergiants
- What do small and medium stars (white dwarfs) become when they stop glowing?
- black dwarfs
- White-dwarfs will become black dwars when they stop doing what?
- glowing