CHARACTERISTICS

OF STARS
Neil Florenz Espinosa
Josiah David Marcelo
9-Dalton
 Did you know?
•There are approximately 400 billion
stars in our galaxy
•There are about 170 billion galaxies
•A person can only see about 3,ooo
stars on average
There are so many stars…
but are the stars same in
(1) size,
(2) color, and
(3) brightness?
 Look at this:
• Which star is bigger,
Betelgeuse or Rigel?

• Can we really tell the

size of stars just by
looking at it?
 Star Size
• Closer stars appear bigger, while farther stars
appear smaller
 Star Color
• Ranges from
red to blue

• Indicates the
star’s surface
temperature
 Examples
Star Color Surface
Temperature (℃)
Proxima Centuari Red 2,300
Epsilon Iridani Orange 4,600
Sun Yellow 5,700
Vega White 9,900
Sirius White 10,000
Alnilam Blue 27,000
Star Brightness
• Which star is the
brightest?

• Can we really tell a

star’s brightness just
by looking at it?
 Apparent Brightness
• The star’s brightness as seen from the
Earth

• Depends on the star’s distance from

the Earth or it’s “actual brightness”
 Absolute Brightness
• The star’s “actual brightness”

• Brightness IF all the stars are in the

same distance from the Earth

• Used to compare stars

 Think about this!
The star Rigel is about 13 times brighter than the
Sun, but because Rigel is farther and the Sun is
closer, the Sun appear brighter than Rigel.