Astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is not just about the stars. Astronomy is about the constellations, the nine planets, the sun and the moons. The solar system is very complex and has many extraordinary objects.

There are four different types of stars: Protostars, Bright Stars, Red Giants, and White Dwarfs. Protostars are stars that are on the verge of being born. They are glowing clouds of dust and gas. Gravity pulls on every atom moving them towards the center of the cloud of dust, which causes the Protostar to collapse. Over a period of twenty million years the star begins to form and 10 million years after the pocket of gas was formed, a star is born.

The second types of stars are called Bright Stars. They are formed when the new star has completed about 35 million years of its life cycle. A star’s life cycle is a lot like a human’s life cycle, except a star’s years are in millions. When a star is about 10 million years old it is in the same stage on average as a regular human that is about twenty years old. The birth and death rate of stars is called Stellar Evolution. A Bright Star is made when nuclear fusion doubles the size of the star.

The third types of stars are called Red Giants. They are made because the outward flow of the star’s core energy stops. Gravity then steps in and squeezes the star to make it decrease in size. The core of the star’s heat increases and it starts releasing small amounts of energy, the energy holds a large amount of hydrogen gas. The star then begins to grow larger, but it does not get brighter. As a result of the sudden and fast temperature drop, the star’s color changes from blue-white to a red color. Most Red Giant stars have been found in groups called Globular Clusters. Globular Clusters are groups of up to one million stars that move through space.

The fourth type of stars are called White Dwarfs. When a White Dwarf is made the star begins cooling off. As a result of cooling, the outer gas layer spreads out. The star’s temperature drops and makes the gas layer spread out even more. Eventually, the outer layer spreads out so far that the gas layer separates from the star. Then, a Planetary Nebula (cloud of glowing atoms), moves in all directions. The star’s core isn’t giving out any more energy and is to the point of collapsing slowly. All of the matter that the star had in the beginning is still there, but it ...

... middle of paper ...

...on. Orion was an ancient Greek hunter and warrior. The constellation Orion shows him caring a club shield, and a sword dangling from his belt. Orion has more Bright Stars the any other constellations. The two brightest stars in it are Betelgeuse and Rigel. Betelgeuse is Orion’s shoulder and Rigel is his foot. Cassiopeia is another well-known constellation. "Cassiopeia is a group of stars, the brightest which form a large W in the northern sky." (Miller, 10). Cassiopeia is found next to the Big Dipper and Orion. Its shape is an exact M or W, formed with the five bright stars. "The mythic Cassiopeia was an Ethiopian Queen." (Miller 10). Constellations are probably the most interesting thing in the solar system. Most people look at them as an exciting look at the mythological part of our solar system, and others think that they are just another interesting part of the night sky.

The Universe is something no one can explain. Our Galaxy is one of the countless galaxies dotted throughout the Universe, like islands in a big ocean. Many objects in the Solar System have yet to be discovered and may never be, but it will always be there and may never change for generations to come.