Format
1. This program begins with a tour of the current evening sky.
2. We then discuss the inner workings of stars and the evolutionary tracks of stars with different masses.
3. Participants view high-resolution imagery of the stellar life cycle, including nebulae, dwarf stars, giant stars, planetary nebulae, supernovae, and stellar remnants.
4. Time is allowed for questions and answers.
Objectives
- Differentiate the significance of a star's color relative to its temperature.
- Compare the fundamental importance of a star’s mass to its life history and be able to state that massive stars live much shorter lives than stars like our Sun.
- Describe the evolutionary track of two stars of differing masses.
Standards Alignment
State Standards
OHIO'S LEARNING STANDARDS
Grade 5
Earth and Space Science – Cycles and Patterns in the Solar System
- The Sun is one of many stars that exist in the Universe
Grade 6
Earth and Space Science – Matter and Motion
- All matter is made up of small particles called atoms.
Grade 7
Physical Science – Conservation of Mass and Energy
- Energy can be transformed or transferred but it is never lost.
- Energy can be transferred through a variety of ways.
Grade 8
Physical Science – Forces and Motion
- Objects can experience a force due to an external field such as magnetic, electrostatic or gravitational fields.
- Forces can act to change the motion of objects.
Grades 9-12
Physical Science – Study of Matter
- Reactions of matter – Nuclear reactions
Physical Science – Energy and Waves
- Waves – Radiant energy and the electromagnetic spectrum
Physical Science – The Universe
- Stars – Formation; stages of evolution
- Stars – Fusion in stars