How do stars contribute to the evolution of a galaxy?
The age, distribution, and composition of the stars in a galaxy trace the history, dynamics, and evolution of that galaxy. Moreover, stars are responsible for the manufacture and distribution of heavy elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and their characteristics are intimately tied to the characteristics of the planetary systems ...
What are stars and stars?
Stars are the most widely recognized astronomical objects, and represent the most fundamental building blocks of galaxies. The age, distribution, and composition of the stars in a galaxy trace the history, dynamics, and evolution of that galaxy.
Where do stars come from?
Stars are born within the clouds of dust and scattered throughout most galaxies. A familiar example of such as a dust cloud is the Orion Nebula.
Why do stars form in groups in the Milky Way?
Three-dimensional computer models of star formation predict that the spinning clouds of collapsing gas and dust may break up into two or three blobs; this would explain why the majority the stars in the Milky Way are paired or in groups of multiple stars.
How are stars distributed throughout the universe?
The number of stars gradually increases from each of the galactic poles to the Milky Way itself.” The Galaxy, seems therefore to be the ground-plan of the stellar universe, “the ecliptic of the stars” as the younger Herschel called it; and the aggregation of stars towards the 402 The Distribution of the Stars galactic ...
How are stars scattered in space?
Stars are not scattered randomly through space, they are gathered together into vast groups known as galaxies. The Sun belongs to a galaxy called the Milky Way. Astronomers estimate there are about 100 thousand million stars in the Milky Way alone. Outside that, there are millions upon millions of other galaxies also!
Why are stars not evenly distributed?
Naked eye stars are not distributed uniformly in the sky. That is because the median naked eye star is at a distance of 440 light years, and this is far enough away that some of the details of Galactic structure start to become apparent.
How are stars distributed in the Milky Way galaxy?
O-B stars are strongly concentrated towards the plane • A stars are also concentrated towards the plane. The fact that they are older on average, implies that they will have dispersed over a larger spatial volume and are not located as close to their formation site as O-B stars.
How is a star born?
A star is born when atoms of light elements are squeezed under enough pressure for their nuclei to undergo fusion. All stars are the result of a balance of forces: the force of gravity compresses atoms in interstellar gas until the fusion reactions begin.
Are there stars between galaxies?
Yes, there are stars between galaxies. When there are collisions or interactions between galaxies, stars can be ripped out of the galaxies. These stars will then wander into space between galaxies. Such stars have been observed with the Hubble Space Telescope.
Is there a pattern to the universe?
For decades, cosmologists have wondered if the large-scale structure of the universe is a fractal — that is, if it looks the same no matter how large the scale. After completing massive surveys of galaxies, scientists finally have an answer: No, but kind of, in a way.
Are stars randomly distributed?
Stars are not distributed randomly throughout space. Many stars are in systems consisting of two or three members separated by less than 1,000 AU.
What can be found evenly distributed throughout the universe?
In its simplest form, the Big Bang theory assumes that matter and radiation are uniformly distributed throughout the universe and that general relativity is universally valid.
How many stars are in the universe?
200 billion trillion starsThere are approximately 200 billion trillion stars in the universe.
Are the stars in the Milky Way moving apart?
Rather than moving in circles around the center of the Milky Way, all the stars in our Galaxy are travelling along different paths, moving away from the Galactic center.
How many galaxies are in the universe?
Researchers dubbed this the eXtreme Deep Field. All in all, Hubble reveals an estimated 100 billion galaxies in the universe or so, but this number is likely to increase to about 200 billion as telescope technology in space improves, Livio told Space.com.
What do stars look like in space?
To the naked eye, the stars look like tiny points of light . But stars are not tiny—they're huge, burning balls of gas, like our Sun. They just appear small because they are so far away. The nearest star to our solar system is 4 light years away, which is 20 trillion miles.
What happens when a star runs out of hydrogen?
Eventually the core of the star runs out of hydrogen. When that happens, the star can no longer hold up against gravity. Its inner layers start to collapse, which squishes the core, increasing the pressure and temperature in the core of the star.
Are stars actually star shaped?
It is probably a mathematic question. Because we can draw a continues line into a five-pointed star, which is very convenient and efficient. But actually stars are big balls of gas, giving off heat and light. Therefore, most of stars is not star-shaped, but spherical.
Why do stars collapse into black holes?
A black hole is a region in space where the pulling force of gravity is so strong that light is not able to escape. The strong gravity occurs because matter has been pressed into a tiny space. This compression can take place at the end of a star's life. Some black holes are a result of dying stars.