Unit 1: The Universe

Wednesday 8/23��BW: What comes to mind when you hear the words earth science and space science? Please write at least two sentences.

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Genesis 1:1-19

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Do you think what we just read in Genesis is compatible with science? Why or why not?

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Friday 8/25

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BW: In your own words, define what the universe is. What are some things inside the universe?

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The Universe

• The universe is all of SPACE, TIME, MATTER, and ENERGY.
• The universe contains EVERYTHING that exists.

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So what are some celestial bodies contained within our universe?

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The Solar System

Presentation Title

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Solar System: The collection of large and small bodies that orbit our central star, the sun.��The distance from the sun to Neptune is 4.5 BILLION KM

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Star: Large celestial body that is composed of gas and emits light

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Monday 8/28

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BW: Without looking at your notes, explain what the universe is.

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Stars

• Most stars are composed almost entirely of HYDROGEN and HELIUM
• Energy production takes place in the center, or CORE, of a star by the process of NUCLEAR FUSION
• Nuclear fusion fuses smaller elements into heavier elements producing energy that is given off as LIGHT
• The sun is a main-sequence YELLOW DWARF star that is about 5,500 °C at its surface.

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Do you think stars are bigger or smaller than planets?

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Do you think stars are bigger or smaller than planets?

It depends….

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How Big Are Stars?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXZ-uwYSYlg

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UY Scuti

• UY SCUTI is the largest known star
• Variable hypergiant
• Radius around 1,700 times larger than the radius of the sun
• Almost 5 BILLION suns could fit into UY Scuti

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EBLM J0555-57Ab

• EBLM J0555-57AB is the smallest known star
• Red dwarf star
• Approximately 10 times the size of Earth (and roughly the size of Saturn)

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Galaxy: Large collection of stars, gas, and dust that is held together by gravity

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Galaxies

• Small galaxies, called DWARF galaxies, may contain only a few million stars
• Giant galaxies, however, may contain HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of stars.
• There are 100 BILLION galaxies in the universe

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Galaxies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKexqK3UKdE

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Tuesday 8/29

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BW: Without looking at your notes, what is the definition of a galaxy?

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Spiral Galaxy

• Shaped like a pinwheel
• Central Bulge
• Two or more spiral arms

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Elliptical Galaxy

• Look like spheres or ovals
• Do not have spiral arms

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Irregular Galaxy

• Appear as splotchy and irregularly shaped “blobs”
• Very active areas of star formation

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Wednesday 8/30

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BW: What are the three types of galaxies? Choose one and describe its characteristics.

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What is a nebula?

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No, not this Nebula…

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This nebula!���https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MzWiKjSr9I�

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Nebula: A large cloud of gas and dust in space

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Nebula

• Nebulae may form from STARS. Planetary nebulae form as stars like the sun age and push away their outer layer of material.
• Nebulae also form after supergiant stars explode. The nebulae that form from remains of these explosions are called SUPERNOVA REMNANTS.
• Nebulae are considered both star NURSERIES and star CEMETERIES.

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There Are Three Types of Nebula

• Emission
• Reflection
• Dark

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Emission Nebula

• Give off a red glow
• Ex: Orion Nebula

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Reflection Nebula

• Reflect the light of nearby stars
• Often blue
• Ex: Witch Head

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Thursday 8/31

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BW: Without looking at your notes, what is the definition of a nebula? Can you give an example?

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Dark Nebula

• Appear as dark regions
• Block the light of stars behind them
• Ex: Horse Head

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How far is far……?

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Corpus Christi to Dallas: 661 km

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Lovell, ME to Corpus Christi, TX: 3537 km

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Earth to Sun: 150 million km

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Diameter of the Milky Way: 1x10^18 km

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The distance between objects in space is WAY too large to use measurements we use here on earth.

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Space Measurements

• Light year (ly): the distance that light travels through space in one year

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• Light travels through space at about 300,000 KM/S or about 9.5 TRILLION km in one year.

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Earth to Sun: 150 million km… how many light seconds? Minutes?

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You try! How many light-seconds is Mars from the sun? Light-seconds? (Mars is 228,000,000 km from the sun)

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Flashcard Creation

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Tuesday 9/5

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BW: What are the three types of nebula? Choose one to describe in more detail.

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Galaxy: Large collection of stars, gas, and dust that is held together by gravity

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Irregular Galaxy

• Appear as splotchy and irregularly shaped “blobs”
• Very active areas of star formation

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Wednesday 9/6

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BW: What kind of celestial body is the sun? A planet? A star? Something else?

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Stars

Star: A large celestial body that is composed of gas and emits light

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Stars – A Review

• Most stars are composed almost entirely of HYDROGEN and HELIUM
• Energy production takes place in the center, or CORE, of a star by the process of NUCLEAR FUSION
• Nuclear fusion fuses smaller elements into heavier elements producing energy that is given off as LIGHT
• The sun is a main-sequence YELLOW DWARF star that is about 5,500 °C at its surface.

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Which flashlight appears brighter? Which flashlight IS brighter?

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How is a star’s brightness measured?

• A star’s brightness is measured by its APPARENT MAGNITUDE
• Apparent Magnitude: the measure of a star’s brightness as seen from Earth
• Ancient astronomers described star brightness by magnitude. They called the brightest stars they could see FIRST MAGNITUDE and the faintest stars they could see SIXTH MAGNITUDE
• Today, the range of magnitude goes from -2 to +30

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With this magnitude range in mind, what do you think a large negative number represents? What about a large positive number?

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Order These Stars From Most Bright in Appearance to Least Bright in Appearance

• The more NEGATIVE the apparent magnitude, the BRIGHTER the star appears. The more POSITIVE the apparent magnitude, the FAINTER the star appears.

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How is a star’s luminosity measured?

• Luminosity: the actual brightness of a star

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• A star’s luminosity is measured by its ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE

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• Absolute Magnitude: A measure of how bright a star would be if the star were located at a standard distance

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Order These Stars From Most Luminous to Least Luminous

• The more NEGATIVE the absolute magnitude, the MORE LUMINOUS the star is. The more POSITIVE the absolute magnitude, the LESS LUMINOUS the star is.

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Monday 9/11

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BW: What is the difference between apparent and absolute magnitude of stars?

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Putting it all together…

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Surface Temperatures of Stars

• Surface temperatures of stars are measured by COLOR.
• Stars that have the lowest surface temperatures (below 3,500 C) are RED
• Stars that have the highest surface temperature (above 25,000 C) are BLUE

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Star Surface Temperatures

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How are the colors of stars that have different surface temperatures similar to the colors of a steel bar that is heated up?

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Tuesday 9/12

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BW: What is the color of the hottest star? What is the color of the coldest star?

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Thursday 9/14

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BW: Which star appears brighter from earth?

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How are the sizes of stars measured?

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Measuring the Size of Stars

• Astronomers use the SIZE OF THE SUN to describe the size of other stars
• The unit of measurement astronomers use is SOLAR RADII
• The size of the sun is 1 SOLAR RADII

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Order these stars from smallest to largest

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Star Project

Your Slide Must Contain

• Star name
• Picture of your star
• Star size
• Star luminosity
• Star age
• Surface temperature
• Color
• How far the star is located from Earth
• At least TWO additional pieces of information you learned about the star

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Sun

• Size: 432,690 mile radius
• Luminosity: +4.8
• Age: 4.6 billion years old
• Surface Temp: 5,500 C
• Color: Yellow/ Yellow-White
• Distance From Earth: 92.96 million miles
• Fun fact: The sun is a main-sequence star (sometimes referred to as a yellow dwarf). The sun will completely die in approximately 7-8 billion more years

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Presentations

• Each member of the group must speak
• Should be around 3-5 minutes long
• No messing around with other groups’ slides

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Elizabeth, Alyssa, Adisyn�Alberto and Jaedyn�Ian and Chris�Bella, Jala, Jordyn�Matthew and Jesse�Andrea and Adelina�Omar, Miguel, Uriah

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Presentation Work/Delivery

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Thursday 9/20

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BW: Order the following stars from most luminous to least luminous

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Life Cycle of Stars

How might you relate the human life cycle to the life cycle of stars?

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A Star is Born…

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A Star is Born…

• Stars form in nebulae
• Nebula: a large cloud of gas and dust
• Nebula, like stars, are composed of mostly HYDROGEN AND HELIUM

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Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation: ALL objects in the universe attract one another

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Presentation Title

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9/3/20XX

A Star Is Born…

• The force of gravity INCREASES with INCREASING mass and DECREASING distance between objects
• As particles within the nebula are pulled closer together, GRAVITATIONAL ATTRACTION INCREASES
• As a result, dense regions of gas and dust form within the nebula called DENSE CORES

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Stage 1: Active Nuclear Fusion

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Nuclear Fusion

• As dense cores form within a nebula, the temperature SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASES
• At about 10 Million °C, the process of NUCLEAR FUSION begins. This process releases enormous amounts of energy.
• Nuclear fusion takes place when HIGH TEMPERATURE and PRESSURE cause two or more low-mass atomic nuclei to form a heavier nucleus.

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Nuclear Fusion

• The start of nuclear fusion marks the BIRTH OF A STAR
• Active nuclear fusion is the longest stage of a star’s lifecycle. It lasts for billions of years.

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Friday 9/22

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BW: What does Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation state?

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Nuclear Fusion

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Stage 2: Nuclear Fusion in a star’s core stops

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Star Life Cycle Stage 2: The Star Grows

Star Life Cycle Stage 2: The Star Grows

• A star enters the next stage of its life cycle when nearly all of the hydrogen in its CORE has FUSED INTO HELIUM
• The core of the star contracts under its own gravity, which increases the temperature of its core
• Energy is transferred to a thin shell of hydrogen that surrounds its core, which causes HYDROGEN FUSION in the OUTER SHELL
• Ongoing fusion radiates large amounts of energy outwards, expanding the outer shell which makes the star GROW MUCH LARGER

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Star Life Cycle Stage 2: Summary

• Core fuses to all helium 🡪 Nuclear fusion in core stops

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• Energy released to outer shell 🡪 Hydrogen fusion in outer shell

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• Outer shell fusion 🡪 Releases energy and expands size of star

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Monday 9/25

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BW: Describe the first two stages of the star’s life cycle

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Depending on the size of a star, the final stage of its life cycle differs:��Smaller stars can also be called LOW-MASS STARS and follow the life cycle of a low-mass star��Large stars can also be called HIGH-MASS STARS and follow the life cycle of a high-mass star

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The Lightweights: Low-Mass Stars

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The Lightweights: Low-Mass Stars

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The Lightweights: Low-Mass Stars

• Outward pressure from the energy of fusion in the shell overcomes gravity
• The hydrogen shell then EXPANDS GREATLY
• The star becomes much larger and brighter, and is now called a GIANT

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Low-Mass Star Stage 3: Giant Loses Material, Leaving a White Dwarf

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Low-Mass Star Stage 3: Giant Loses Material, Leaving a White Dwarf

• Over time, a giant’s outer gases drift away from the core
• The gases appear as a cloud around a dying star
• As clouds disperse, gravity causes the remaining matter of the star’s core to COLLAPSE INWARD
• This star’s core becomes DENSER and VERY HOT
• White Dwarf: the hot dense core of matter that remains from the collapse of a low-mass star

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Low-Mass Star Stage 3: Giant Loses Material, Leaving a White Dwarf

• White Dwarfs are about the SIZE OF EARTH
• White Dwarfs shine for billions of years before they cool completely. As White Dwarfs cool, they become FAINTER
• This is the final stage in the life cycle of a low-mass star

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Low-Mass Star Life Cycle

1. Gravity pulls particles together causing dense core in nebula
2. Nuclear fusion occurs at core, giving rise to a star
3. Nuclear fusion at core stops, gravity contracts core
4. Core temperature increases, causing nuclear fusion in outer shell
5. Outer shell expands forming a giant
6. Outer shell gasses drift off leaving white dwarf
7. White dwarf eventually cools and dies out

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The Heavyweights: High-Mass Stars

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The Heavyweights: High-Mass Stars

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Tuesday 9/26

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BW: Summarize the life cycle of a low mass star

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The Heavyweights: High-Mass Stars

• When hydrogen fusion ends in high-mass stars, OTHER TYPES OF FUSION BEGIN that involve the fusion of nuclei into elements heavier than CARBON
• The star expands to become a SUPERGIANT
• Hydrogen fusion stage in high-mass stars ends much sooner than it does in low-mass stars. A star with 10 times the mass of the sun will become a supergiant in just 20 million years. It takes 10 billion years for a low-mass star to become a giant

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High-Mass Star Stage 3: Supergiant Collapses Triggering a Supernova

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High-Mass Star Stage 3: Supergiant Collapses Triggering a Supernova

• In the supergiant stage, the high-mass star fuses larger and larger nuclei until all its nuclear fuel is used up.
• Supergiant no longer generates energy needed to keep the core from collapsing
• Core RAPIDLY COLLAPSES, core’s temperature RAPIDLY INCREASES, which RELEASES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ENERGY
• Supernova: A gigantic explosion in which a high-mass star throw its outer layers into space

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One of two things remain…

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Neutron Star

• Core of a supernova continues to collapse under the force of gravity
• Core’s protons and electrons smash together to form neutrons resulting in a NEUTRON STAR
• Neutron Star: small, incredibly dense ball of closely packed neutrons
• A neutron star may be as small as 20 km in diameter, yet may emit energy of 100,00 suns

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Black Hole

• Most massive of stars produce a BLACK HOLE upon collapse
• The core continues to collapse under the force of gravity into a SINGLE POINT
• Black Hole: an invisible object with gravity so great that nothing, not even light, can escape it
• Black holes CANNOT BE SEEN DIRECTLY. Instead, they are “observed” by the gravitational effect they have on their surroundings

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High-Mass Star Life Cycle

1. Gravity pulls particles together causing dense core in nebula
2. Nuclear fusion occurs at core, giving rise to a star
3. Nuclear fusion continues fusing nuclei into larger nuclei
4. Nuclear fusion at core stops, gravity contracts core
5. Core temperature increases, causing nuclear fusion in outer shell
6. Outer shell expands forming a supergiant
7. Nuclear fusion stops altogether, gravity collapses core, supernova occurs
8. Neutron star or black hole are formed

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Wednesday 9/27

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BW: Summarize the life cycle of a high-mass star

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The Life Cycle of Stars Recap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG-ukUB_sQU�

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Star Life Cycle Flip Books

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Your choice of flip book:

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Thursday 9/28

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BW: What are the two forces pushing against each other during a star’s life cycle? What happens with these forces once all hydrogen in the core has been fused?

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Tuesday 10/3

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BW: Which star appears brighter from Earth? Which star is actually brighter?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYy2j21T_pI&t=62s�

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A Graphic Display of Stars

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Hertzsprung-Russel (H-R) Diagram

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Main-Sequence: The region of the diagram where stars spend most of their lives. Stars within this band are actively fusing hydrogen.

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The life cycle of a star can be seen through the H-R Diagram

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Brighter

Hotter

A

B

C

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Thursday 9/29��

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Test

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9/3/20XX

Monday 10/3��BW: What was the hardest question on the test and why? Think about it, then talk with your tablemate to try to come to the answer of that question

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Test Review

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9/3/20XX

Wednesday 10/5��BW: What do you know about x-rays? If I took a photo of an object with a camera, would it show the same thing as if I took an x-ray of that same object?

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The electromagnetic spectrum describes all kinds of light, including those the human eye cannot see

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Wavelength Anatomy

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Electromagnetic Spectrum

• WAVELENGTH: the distance between two adjacent crests or troughs of a wave
• FREQUENCY: Measurement of the number of waves passing a point per second
• HIGHER FREQUENCY = SHORTER WAVELENGTH
• Energy carried by electromagnetic radiation depends on both the WAVELENGTH and the AMOUNT OF RADIATION at that wavelength

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Visible Light Waves

• Can tell us about the composition of components in the universe
• Can tell us about temperature of celestial bodies based on their color

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Radio Waves

• Teach us about composition, structure, and motion of the universe

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Infrared Waves

• Infrared waves have longer wavelengths than visible light and can pass through dense regions of gas and dust.
• Can reveal objects in the universe that cannot be seen in visible light

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Ultraviolet Waves

• Inform us about the chemical composition, densities, and temperatures of components in the universe
• Can also tell us about the evolution of galaxies

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X-Ray Waves

• Tell us how flaring activity of stars can change as stars evolve
• Tell us about composition, temperature, and density of distance celestial environments
• Can be used to study black holes

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Thursday 10/6��BW: List the different types of EM radiation in order of longest wavelength to shortest. What happens to the energy of the wavelength as it gets shorter?

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Images Taken Using Different Waves: https://www.nasa.gov/content/explore-light�

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Hubble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEnqDEPsBHQ�

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James Webb - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmguh7eks_U�

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Comparing Hubble and James Webb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xjX3Tg64-I�

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Friday 10/7��BW: What do you know about the Big Bang?

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Origins of the Universe:�https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdPzOWlLrbE�

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Genesis 1:1-19

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Catholic Thought on the Big Bang Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7M9vgUCinY�

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