Vocabulary
This is an exploding ball of burning gas held together by gravity.
star
This is the closest star to Earth.
Sun
This star is the only star in our solar system.
Sun
You should never look directly at this star.
Sun
What can travel 186,000 miles per second?
light
The distance light travels in one year is called this.
light-year
This is the brightest star in the night sky.
Sirius
Stars are gigantic balls of this.
exploding gas
Stars produce these two things.
light and heat
What are two things stars produce?
heat and light
This is the area around a star where liquid water could exist on a planet.
habitable zone
This reddish star is one of the largest known stars and is found in Scorpius.
Antares
This force holds stars together.
gravity
Light travels this fast every second.
186,000 miles per second
Why does Sirius appear brighter than Rigel even though Rigel is bigger?
Sirius is much closer to Earth.
This tool helps show which stars and constellations are visible during different times of the year.
planisphere
This blue-white star in Orion is one of the brightest stars in the sky.
Rigel
Stars farther away from Earth usually appear this way.
smaller and dimmer
Sunlight takes about this many minutes to reach Earth.
8 minutes
What is one way ancient people used stars and constellations?
For navigation, calendars, or finding directions.
This telescope discovered thousands of planets outside our solar system.
Kepler Space Telescope
This giant reddish star is about 1,000 times bigger than the Sun.
Betelgeuse
This is the reason some stars appear brighter than others in the night sky.
differences in size and distance from Earth
Earth is special because it is this distance from the Sun.
the right distance to support life
Why might someone use a planisphere?
To determine which constellations are visible during certain times of the year.