CONSTELLA

TIONS
Are the stars same
in size?
Are the stars same
in color?
• When we look at the night
sky, we see thousands of
stars.
• In reality, there are
approximately 400 billion stars
in our galaxy, and there are
about 170 billion galaxies. A
person can see only about
3,000 stars on the average.
These stars differ in
many ways. We
see stars of
different sizes,
brightness
 RIGEL

SIRIUS

Which star is bigger? ---- Sirius or Rigel? Can

you really tell the size of the star just by
looking at it?
Figure 2 shows the size of the Sun, the
closest star to Earth, as compared to
some other stars that we see at night.
As we can see, the Sun is so small
compared to other nearby stars.
Also, Sirius, which appear bigger than
Rigel, is actually very small compared
toRigel. It appears larger only
because it is closer to us.
Definition of terms:
Star – is a swirling, glowing ball of gases.
Constellation – is a group of stars that
has a shape resembling that of an
animal, a mythological character, or
some other object.
Galaxy – is a large constellation or large
groups of gases, dust and stars in space
held together by gravity .
Type: Elliptical galaxy, spiral galaxy and
irregular galaxy .
 STARS

Galaxy (Milky Way)

Constellation
TYPES OF
GALAXY
Solar System
Theory on the Origin of the Solar
System
Solar Nebular Theory –
The solar system
originated from a huge
cloud of dust and gas in
the interstellar
 CHARACTERISTICS OF STARS

 Color and Temperature

 Brightness and Magnitude
of Stars
 Sizes of Stars
 Distances of Stars
 Composition of Stars
 Color & Temperature
• Star color ranges from red to blue.
The color of the star indicates its
surface temperature.
• The coolest star is about 2800⁰C at
the surface. These star appear red.
• The temperature of the hottest star
is about 28000 ⁰C or higher . These
star appear blue.
Sun – Yellowish, 5500⁰C
• Stars that are cooler appear
orange, stars that are hotter
than the sun appear white.
 Color and Temperature of
Selected Stars
Surface
Star Color Temperature in
Celsius
Sun Yellow 5,700
Proxima Cantuari Red 2,300
Epsilon Iridani Orange 4,600
Vega White 9,900
Sirius White 10,000
Alnilam Blue 27,000
 Sizes of Star
• Stars varies in size, from huge to super
giants to tiny neutron stars.
• Astronomers group stars in to five
types:
o Neutron stars
o White dwarfs
o Medium-sized stars
o Giants
o Super giants
Types of stars according to sizes:
Neutron stars – the smallest, it has a
diameter of about 16 km
White dwarf – about 7300 km, slightly
greater than that of the Earth
Medium-sized star – about one-tenth the
diameter of the sun. Sun has 1.35 million
km in diameter
Giant star – 10 to 100 times that of the sun
Supergiant stars – up to 1000 times the
diameter of the sun
 Distances of Stars
• Scientist use parallax to determine
how far away a star is from Earth.
Parallax – an apparent change in the
position of an object caused by a
change in the position of the observer
• The closer a star is to Earth, the
greater its apparent change of
position. Very distant stars seem not
to shift position at all.
Light Year – is the
distance it takes
the light to travel
in a year
• Scientists express distances
between stars in light years.
• Light year is the distance that
light travels in one year at a
speed of 300 000 km per
second (kps) or 186,000 miles
per second
• A light year is about 9.5 trillion
km (9 500 000 000 000 km)
• The closest star is Proxima Centauri, 4.2 light
years from Earth.
• Other stars are hundred of light years away .
 Composition of Stars
• Using spectroscope, astronomers
have found that almost all stars
have the same general chemical
make-up .
• The most element in stars is
hydrogen, the lightest element
that makes up 60% to 80% of the
total mass of a star .
• The second element is
helium, combination of H
and He make up about
96% to 99% of stars mass.
• Other elements are
oxygen, neon, carbon
and nitrogen.
 Brightness
• The brightness of a star as seen from
the Earth depends on two factors:
distance and the actual brightness
(or absolute brightness) of the star.
• The star’s brightness as seen from
Earth is its apparent brightness,
apparent brightness depends on
how far away a star is from the
Earth.
 RIGEL

SIRIUS

Which star is bigger? ---- Sirius or Rigel? Can

you really tell the size of the star just by
looking at it?
 EFFECT OF DISTANCE TO
APPARENT BRIGHTNESS
• Compared to the Sun, Sirius is
about 27 times as powerful as the
Sun, but Rigel is almost 100 times
farther away than Sirius.
• In terms of apparent brightness,
Sirius is about as twice as bright as
Rigel. Sirius looks very bright when
viewed from the Earth because it
is closer to Earth
Astronomers consider the
star’s absolute brightness
when comparing stars. A
star’s absolute brightness is
the brightness the star would
have if all stars were the
same standard distance from
Earth.
 RIGEL

SIRIUS
• WhenWhat
youislook
a Constellation?
at the sky, what
do you see? Do you see images
of animals or objects?
• Observers in ancient times also
imagined group of stars that
form pictures of animals, objects
and people. These imaginary
groups of stars are called
constellations.
• ManyWhatof isthese constellations
a Constellation?
have names that can be
traced back to early
Babylonians and Greek
civilizations, but nearly all
cultures have different
names for the
constellations.
• For What
example, the Greeks
is a Constellation?
called the large
constellation Orion, which
means hunter and is
prominent in the night sky
all over the world during
winter.
• Early Filipinos
What visualized
is a Constellation?
the same group of stars
as Balatik, a trap used in
hunting wild pigs.
• Christian Filipinos named
the three stars (Orion’s
belt) Tatlong Maria or Tres
Marias.
 Apparent Movement of the
Stars through the Night
• Like the sun, stars move
from east to west during
the course of the day (for
the sun) and night (for the
stars)
 Are the stars visible at 7 pm
still visible at 11 pm in their
“original position”? Why
ANS: No, because they
move. The constellations
move from right to left as
the night deepens.
• By observing Sun’s movement
and position in the sky, we can
tell what time of the day it is.
• When it rises in the east, it is
morning, when it is above us, it
is noon and when it sets in the
west, it is afternoon. Just like
the Sun, stars also seem to
move from East to West.
 THE POLARIS
• Polaris, commonly known
as North Star, is the
brightest star in the
constellation Ursa Minor
(Little Dipper).
• It is very close to the north celestial
pole, making it the current
northern pole star .
• Because it lies nearly in a direct
line with the axis of the Earth's
rotation "above" the North Pole,
• Polaris stands almost motionless in
the sky, and all the stars of the
Northern sky appear to rotate
around it.
In Figure 3, Polaris and the
star trail are seen.
Star trail – a type of
photograph that utilizes long-
exposure times to capture
the apparent motion of stars
in the night sky due to the
rotation of the Earth.
• In Metro Manila, when you face North,
Polaris, which is 11.3⁰ from the horizon,
is seen at around 15° due to
atmospheric refraction.
• In some parts of the country (i.e.
Southern Philippines), it would be very
difficult to locate Polaris since star
lights near the horizon are washed out
by lights lit by men, and /or obstructed
by manmade or topographical
structures and/or trees.
Different Star
Patterns
through the
Year
Why are some
constellations only
visible at
particular
months?
• While the rotation of the
Earth on its axis causes the
apparent nightly movement
of the stars across the sky,
the revolution is responsible
for the fact that we can see
different parts of the sky at
different parts of the year.
• An observer from Earth will
be able to see the stars that
are on the night side.
• The stars on the same side
as the sun cannot be seen
because sunlight
overpowers all the star
lights.
• During summer in the
Philippines, the constellations
of Orion and Taurus are not
visible at night. They will be
visible again as the cold
season begins. During this
time, Scorpios will not be
seen in the night sky .
• As the Earth revolves
around its orbit, the
stars that were
concealed by the
bright light of the Sun in
the previous months will
appear in the night sky.
 How Early People Used the
Constellations
While constellations were
associated with religion, they
also have practical uses. Before
the calendars, people had no
way of determining when to sow
or harvest except by looking at
these patterns in the sky .
 Ancient people developed a way
to remember the patterns by
giving these patterns names and
stories.
 For example, in the northern
hemisphere, the constellation
Orion indicates the coming of
cold season.
 The constellations made it easier
for them to recognize and
interpret patterns in the sky .
• For example, Gemini is seen in the
Philippines during the months of April
and May .
• Farmers interpreted the appearance
of Gemini as the end of planting
season and it signified rich harvest.
• The table below shows how the
Matigsalug Manobo of Bukidnon
used the stars and constellations in
relation to their agriculture.
 Month of Related Western
Local Name
Appearance Agricultural Act. Equivalent
Baha Dec to Feb Clearing of forest Taurus
Start of planning what
Pandarawa January crops to be planted & Pleiades
how wide is the area
Start planting & setting of
Balatik Feruary Orion’s Belt
traps
Planting of rice, corn &
Malihe March
veggies
End of planting season,
Gibbang April & May Gemini
signifies rich harvest
Malara May Stop planting Canis Minor

Time to clean or clear

Lepu Late May the fields while waiting Aquila
for harvest time

Start of the rainy

Buwaya June
season
QUIZ
1. The constellation Pisces changes
position during a night, as shown in the
diagram below. Which motion is mainly
responsible for this change in position?
A. Revolution of Earth around
the Sun
B. Rotation of Earth on its axis
C. Revolution of Pisces
around the Sun
D. Rotation of Pisces on its
axis
2. The constellation below represents
the constellation Cygnus.
Which statement best explains why
Cygnus is visible to an observer in
Manila in September but not visible
in March?
A. Earth spins on its axis.
B. Earth orbits the Sun.
C. Cygnus spins on its axis.
D. Cygnus orbits the Earth.
For number 3 to 5, use the table below
that presents information about stars A,
B, C, and D.

Star Color
A Red
B Yellow
C White
D Blue
3. Which star is the
hottest?
4. Which star is very
similar to our Sun?
5. Which is the coolest
star?
6. How do stars appear to
move in the night sky?
a. From East to West
b. From North to South
c. From West to East
d. From South to North
7. Stars appear to move in
the sky because
a. The Earth is rotating on its
axis.
b. The Universe is expanding.
c. The night sky is rotating.
d. New galaxies are formed.
8. It’s a group of stars that has
a shape resembling that of an
animal, a mythological
character, or some other
object.
a. Solar system
b. Comets
c. Constellation
d. Asteroid
9. Refers to the distance it
takes the light to travel in a
year
a.Year
b.Light year
c.Centimeter
d.kilometer
10. It is a swirling,
glowing ball of gases
a.Star
b.Comet
c.Constellation
d.asteroid
11. What is the most
element or general
chemical make-up found
in stars?
a. oxygen
b. Hydrogen
c. Carbon dioxide
12. The star’s brightness
as seen from Earth is called
_________.
a.Actual brightness
b.Absolute brightness
c.Apparent brightness
13. The brightness the star
would have if all stars were
the same standard distance
from Earth
a.Absolute brightness
b.Apparent brightness
c.Distant brightness
14. Why do stars have colors?
A. It is because of the presence of
oxygen.
B. It is because of the presence of
carbon dioxide.
C. It is because of varied
temperatures.
D. It is because of the different
locations.
15. Commonly known as
North Star, is the brightest star
in the constellation Ursa
Minor (Little Dipper)
a. Sun
b. Proxima Centauri
c. Polaris