The Life Cycle of Stars

Summary

In this module, students gain a deeper understanding of stars: what powers them, their structure, how they are formed, how astronomers identify and classify them, and how stars differ in terms of mass, luminosity, composition, colour and temperature. We then investigate how stars can evolve in very different ways, often ending their days in spectacular fashion. The ‘Star in a Box’ activity enables students to visualise how stars of varying mass live out their lives. The second part of the module involves practical activities to determine a star’s distance, and to identify stars using spectroscopy.

Age Range

14 – 18

Duration

90 minutes

Module Composition

• Introduction to the Stars – Presentation
• Star in a Box – Practical Activity (Laptop)
• Determining Star Distances – Practical Activity
• Stellar Spectroscopy – Practical Activity

Extension Activities

• 100,000 stars – interactive 3D visualisation of the stellar neighbourhood.
• Classification of Stars – statistical summary.
• Stellar Parallax Simulator – measuring distances to stars.