Science Of Stars Essay
Science of Stars
Nancy Vasquez
SCI 151
September 23, 2012
Robert Austin
Abstract
When discussing the Solar System, the planets are what are mostly thought of. Many other objects orbit around the sky such as stars, asteroids and meteors. Stars have many properties of which will be discussed throughout this paper.
Properties of Stars * Stars are determined by their brightness, distance, luminosity, radius, chemical composition and temperature (Strobel, 2007). * When determining the distance to a star, we use two methods; the parallax and the parsec. The parallax is the angular shift which is one of the angles in a triangle. It is also the distance between to other points on the other side of the triangle. This angle …show more content…
This method is used is the most ancient and standard method in determining stellar distances (Parsec, 2009). * To put the two together a parsec is the parallax of one arc second. To make the understanding easier, we measure the distance from the star to the Sun. At the sun point, draw an equal circle around the star. You do the same thing with the sun and the earth. Draw a straight line from the Earth through the Sun. The distance from a star point to the Sun formula is below (Bennett, …show more content…
The Sun has similar absorption lines as stars, meaning they are typically made up of hydrogen and helium with traces of other essentials. Absorption lines are in most stellar spectra. By finding what lines, absorption or emission, are there and their strengths, a plethora of information can be found. Finding the absorption lines in stars tells us the stars have a dense area that produces a continual spectrum and outer layer which is cooler consisting of a low density gas. The center of these stars has hot gases. The stars have no molten rock similar to some
Nancy Vasquez
SCI 151
September 23, 2012
Robert Austin
Abstract
When discussing the Solar System, the planets are what are mostly thought of. Many other objects orbit around the sky such as stars, asteroids and meteors. Stars have many properties of which will be discussed throughout this paper.
Properties of Stars * Stars are determined by their brightness, distance, luminosity, radius, chemical composition and temperature (Strobel, 2007). * When determining the distance to a star, we use two methods; the parallax and the parsec. The parallax is the angular shift which is one of the angles in a triangle. It is also the distance between to other points on the other side of the triangle. This angle …show more content…
This method is used is the most ancient and standard method in determining stellar distances (Parsec, 2009). * To put the two together a parsec is the parallax of one arc second. To make the understanding easier, we measure the distance from the star to the Sun. At the sun point, draw an equal circle around the star. You do the same thing with the sun and the earth. Draw a straight line from the Earth through the Sun. The distance from a star point to the Sun formula is below (Bennett, …show more content…
The Sun has similar absorption lines as stars, meaning they are typically made up of hydrogen and helium with traces of other essentials. Absorption lines are in most stellar spectra. By finding what lines, absorption or emission, are there and their strengths, a plethora of information can be found. Finding the absorption lines in stars tells us the stars have a dense area that produces a continual spectrum and outer layer which is cooler consisting of a low density gas. The center of these stars has hot gases. The stars have no molten rock similar to some