STARS

Stars are giant, luminous spheres of plasma. There are billions of them — including our own sun — in the Milky Way Galaxy.
And there are billions of galaxies in the universe. So far, we have learned that hundreds also have planets orbiting them.

History of observations
Since the dawn of recorded civilization, stars played a key role in religion and proved vital to navigation. Astronomy, the study
of the heavens, may be the most ancient of the sciences.

 The invention of the telescope and the discovery of the laws of motion and gravity in the 17th century prompted the realization
that stars were just like the sun, all obeying the same laws of physics.
 In the 19th century, photography and spectroscopy — the study of the wavelengths of light that objects emit — made it
possible to investigate the compositions and motions of stars from afar, leading to the development of astrophysics.
 In 1937, the first radio telescope was built, enabling astronomers to detect otherwise invisible radiation from stars.
 In 1990, the first space-based optical telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, was launched, providing the deepest, most
detailed visible-light view of the universe.

Characteristics of stars
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.

 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. 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.

 Color
Stars come in a range of colors, from reddish to yellowish to blue. The color of a star depends on surface temperature. A star
might appear to have a single color, but actually emits a broad spectrum of colors, potentially including everything from radio waves and
infrared rays to ultraviolet beams and gamma rays. Different elements or compounds absorb and emit different colors or wavelengths of
light, and by studying a star's spectrum, one can divine what its composition might be.

 Surface temperature
o Dark red star has a surface temperature of about 2,500 K (2,225 0C)
o Bright red star, about 3,500 K (3,225 0C)
o The sun and other yellow stars, about 5,500 K (5,225 0C)
o Blue star, about 10,000 K (9,725 0C) to 50,000 K (49,725 0C)

 Size
Astronomers generally measure the size of stars in terms of the radius of our sun. For instance, Alpha Centauri A has a radius
of 1.05 solar radii (the plural of radius). Stars range in size from neutron stars, which can be only 12 miles (20 kilometers) wide, to
supergiants roughly 1,000 times the diameter of the sun.

 Mass
Astronomers represent the mass of a star in terms of the solar mass, the mass of our sun. For instance, Alpha Centauri A is
1.08 solar masses. Stars with similar masses might not be similar in size because they have different densities. For instance, Sirius B is
roughly the same mass as the sun, but is 90,000 times as dense, and so is only a fiftieth its diameter. The mass of a star affects
surface temperature.

 Magnetic Field
Stars are spinning balls of roiling, electrically charged gas, and thus typically generate magnetic fields. When it comes to the
sun, researchers have discovered its magnetic field can become highly concentrated in small areas, creating features ranging from
sunspots to spectacular eruptions known as flares and coronal mass ejections. A recent survey at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics found that the average stellar magnetic field increases with the star's rate of rotation and decreases as the star ages.

Classification of Stars
Stars are typically classified by their spectrum in what is known as the Morgan-Keenan or MK system. There are eight spectral
classes, each analogous to a range of surface temperatures — from the hottest to the coldest, these are O, B, A, F, G, K, M and L.
Each spectral class also consists of 10 spectral types, ranging from the numeral 0 for the hottest to the numeral 9 for the coldest.

Stars are also classified by their luminosity under the Morgan-Keenan system. The largest and brightest classes of stars have
the lowest numbers, given in Roman numerals — Ia is a bright supergiant; Ib, a supergiant; II, a bright giant; III, a giant; IV, a subgiant;
and V, a main sequence or dwarf. A complete MK designation includes both spectral type and luminosity class — for instance, the sun
is a G2V.
 CONSTELLATIONS
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.

Star Naming
The International Astronomical Union, the world authority for assigning names to celestial objects, officially recognizes 88
constellations.

Many of these constellations have names that can be traced back to early Babylonians and Greek civilizations, but nearly all
cultures have different names for the constellations. For example, the Greeks called the large constellation Orion, which means
“hunter” and is prominent in the night sky all over the world during winter. Early Filipinos visualized 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.

Some of the Common Constellations

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 the picture on the left, Polaris and the star trail are seen. Star trail is 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. To locate the Polaris, face North and locate the Big Dipper. Two
stars (Merak and Dubhe) in the Big Dipper are called pointer stars because they seem to
point to Polaris.

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 starlights. 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, Scorpius 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.

Other Uses
Another use of constellations was in navigation. The
Polaris is widely used in navigation because it does not
change its position at any time of the night or year.
Also, one can figure out his/her latitude just by looking
at how high Polaris appears in the night sky. This
allowed sailors to find their way as they sail across the
seas.