Star Types
List the types of stars in order from largest to smallest
OBAFGKM
What determines the particular "path" that a star takes during its lifespan?
The star's initial mass
State the Conservation of Mass-Energy Principle
Mass and Energy are neither created nor destroyed, but they can transform
What did astronomers Hertzsprung and Russell develop?
The H-R diagram
What reaction creates the energy that powers the sun?
Fusion
What is the color of a star most directly related to?
The star's mass
Once a cool, main-sequence star has converted its hydrogen to helium, what does it become nexxt?
Red giant
Who developed the Conservation of Mass-Energy principle?
Einstein
This band of stars, that goes from top left to bottom right on the H-R diagram, represents the stage in which stars spend most of their lives
Main sequence
A prominent pattern or group of stars, typically having a popular name but smaller than a constellation, like the Big Dipper or the Little Dipper, is called a(n)
asterism
Which star type as the hottest temperatures?
Compare the mass and lifespan of small stars to large stars.
Small stars--less mass, longer lifespan
Large stars--more mass, shorter lifespan
What is the name of the reaction in which smaller elements are combined into new, larger elements?
Nucleosynthesis
In what area of the H-R diagram are are the largest stars found?
Top right corner
The apparent change in position of a nearby object because of a change in view
parallax
Which star type has the shortest lifespan?
Type O
What is the heaviest element produced by stellar fusion?
Iron
What does the 1 in 1H (Hydrogen-1) tell you?
The atomic number/number of protons
Where on the H-R diagram are the dimmest, coolest small white stars found?
Bottom left corner (white dwarfs)
Astronomers recognize ___ official constellations
88
Which star type is most likely to be red?
Type M
What stage of stellar evolution has produced all of the elements found on Earth that are heavier than iron?
Supernova
If 1H combines with 1H, what element is produced?
Helium (2He)
What is the difference between luminosity and absolute magnitude?
Luminosity: relative brightness of a star
Absolute magnitude: the "brightness" of a star if it were placed 10 parsecs away from earth
What is a brown dwarf?
A clump of gas less than 0.1 solar mass (<10% the mass of our sun) that cannot begin fusion.