Reach for the Stars
From Science Olympiad Student Center Event Wiki
This event rotates with Solar System.
Contents |
2009 Rules
In 2009 each team was only allowed to bring one 8.5" x 11" single or double sided sheet of paper. You may put anything on this paper such as text, illustrations, tables, and pictures. Participants will need to know the same constellations, stars, and deep sky objects as they did last year. There are a few new things they need to know as noted below.
- Aquarius: Helix Nebula
- Cygnus: Deneb, Veil Nebula
- Leo: Regulus & Wolf359
- Orion: Trapezium
- Scorpius: M6 Butterfly Cluster
- Vulpecula: M27 Dumbbell Nebula
Stars
These are the stars from the 2009 list in alphabetical order:
Aldebaran (α Tauri, "the Bull's Eye")- A K5III star (giant, not main sequence) with an apparent magnitude of 0.87, Aldebaran is the 13th brightest star in the nighttime sky. It is around 65 LY away, and it has a white dwarf companion Aldebaran B, with a classification of M2V. The name Aldebaran is from Arabic for "the follower" (because it follows the Pleiades across the night sky). The nickname "the Bull's eye" comes from its bright orange color and its position in the "Bull's head" asterism.
Algol (β Persei, the "Demon Star")- A triple star system, with Algol A as a B8V star, Algol B as a K0-2III star, and Algol C as a A5V star. Combined, it has an apparent magnitude of 2.1, which drops to 3.4 every 3 days or so when Algol A is eclipsed by Algol B (called an eclipsing binary). "Algol" is from Arabic for "head of the ghoul"- they saw the star as the head of Medusa (the Gorgon who turned anyone she looked at into stone).
Altair (α Aquilae)- The 12th brightest star in the sky with an apparent magnitude of 0.77, Altair is one of the vertices of the Summer Triangle (along with Vega and Deneb). It is flattened at the poles due to its high rotation speed. The name Altair comes from a shortened version of the Arabic phrase "the flying eagle". Altair is a A7V star and it's 16.8 LY away.
Antares (α Scorpii)- Antares is a M1.51 star (a supergiant), with an apparent magnitude ranging from 0.9 to 1.8 (it's a variable star). The ancient Greek for "against Mars" (roughly, anti-Ares) became the modern day name of Antares. About 600 LY away, it is also the 16th brightest star in the sky, even though a large portion of its emitted energy is in the infrared wavelengths. Its companion Antares B is a B2.5V star.
Arcturus (α Bootïs)- With an apparent magnitude of -0.05 (can vary by 0.04), Arcturus is the third brightest star in the nighttime sky (however, it is less bright than Alpha Centauri A and B combined). Arcturus might actually be a binary star with a companion around 20 times or so dimmer, at the very edge of our ability to detect it. Arcturus is about 36.7 LY away and is a K1.5III star. The name is derived from Arabic for "bear guard", because it is close to both Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
Betelgeuse (α Orionis)- Betelgeuse (yes, pronounced beetle-juice) is a M2I red supergiant about 600 LY away. It is most likely a young star evolving quite rapidly. Betelgeuse is usually the second brightest star in Orion with an apparent magnitude of around 0.58, but since it's a variable star, Betelgeuse is sometimes brighter than Rigel. Also, it is one of the vertices of the Winter Triangle, along with Sirius and Procyon. "Betelgeuse" comes from a mistranslation of the Arabic phrase for "hand of the central one". Betelgeuse is considered very likely to go supernova after its red giant phase.
Capella (α Aurigae)- Part of the Hyades moving group, Capella is the 6th brightest star in the night sky and the 3rd brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is actually a "star system" of 4 stars in 2 pairs. The first pair are G8III and K0III stars (probably previously A-class stars that have now moved off the main sequence and are becoming red giants) while the second pair consists of 2 small, cool, dim red dwarfs. Combined, these stars have an apparent magnitude of 0.08; additionally, they are 42.2 LY from Earth. There are lots of x-rays being emitted from the corona of the largest star.
Castor (α Geminorum)- Castor is the second brightest star in the constellation Gemini, named after one of the twin sons of the Greek god Zeus. Castor is actually a sextuple star system, with two pairs of A-class stars (1V and 2V) and M-class stars orbited by two more M-class dwarfs. The apparent magnitude can be either 1.96 or 2.91, depending on which of the A-class stars is measured.
Deneb (α Cygni)- One of the vertices of the Summer Triangle, Deneb is an A2I star about 1550 LY away. With an apparent magnitude of 1.25, Deneb is actually the farthest 1st-magnitude star from Earth. It will probably become a supernova in a few million years. Because Deneb is the tail of Cygnus, the swan, its Arabic name is quite fittingly, "tail".
Polaris (α Ursae Minoris, "North Star", the "Pole Star")- Polaris is an important star for navigation, however, it is only approximate North. Polaris A is a F7I-II star, while companions Polaris B and Ab are a F-class main sequence star and a dwarf, respectively (there are also 2 farther stars, Polaris C and D). Polaris may be part of a loose cluster of A- and F-class stars.
Pollux (β Geminorum)- The brightest star in Gemini, Pollux is a K0III star about 34 LY away. It's thought to be younger than the Sun, and there's even thought to be a planet orbiting it. Pollux is named after one of the twin sons of Zeus.
Procyon (α Canis Minoris)- Procyon is the 7th brightest star in the nighttime sky with an apparent magnitude of 0.34. Procyon is a binary star system (Procyon A is a F5IV-V star, Procyon B is a white dwarf) and it's also a vertex of the Winter Triangle.
Regulus (α Leonis)- Around 77.5 LY away, Regulus is a quadruple star system- Regulus A is a B7V star with a white dwarf companion, while Regulus B and C are dim main sequence stars (a K1-2V star and a M5V star, respectively). Regulus A is a young star that spins very rapidly and it has a magnitude of 1.35. The name comes from Latin for "little king" or "prince".
Rigel (β Orionis)- Named in Arabic "left foot of the central one", Rigel is an important star for navigation. Somewhere between 700 and 900 LY away, Rigel is also known as the most luminous star in the nearby Milky Way. Most of the time, it is the brightest star in Orion, but Betelgeuse can be brighter because it is a variable star. Rigel is known to be a triple star system, however, it may in fact be a quadruple star system. The most prominent star is a B8I star with an apparent magnitude of 0.11.
Sirius (α Canis Majoris, the "Dog Star")- Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of -1.47. The binary star system consists of Sirius A (an A1V star) and Sirius B (which used to be even larger than Sirius A but has evolved into a white dwarf). Sirius can be seen up to 73 degrees north or south of the equator, and it's one of the vertices of the Winter Triangle, along with Procyon and Betelgeuse. The nickname "Dog Star" comes from the constellation Sirius is in: Canis Major, the Big Dog. Sirius is about 8.6 LY away.
Spica (α Virginis)- A B1III-IV star with an apparent magnitude varying between 0.92 and 1.04 over a 4-day period of time. Spica is a binary star system (companion Spica B is a B2V star) about 260 LY away. Its name comes from Latin for "Virgo's ear of grain".
Sun (Sol)- A G2V star with an absolute magnitude of 4.83, Sol makes up 98.6% of its solar system's mass, with its 8 orbiting planets making up only about 1.4%. It is about 8 light-minutes from Earth (approx. 149.6 million km or 92.96 million miles), and made up of 75% hydrogen and 25% helium by mass with traces of other elements. Even though it's only a G-class main sequence star, Sol is brighter than 85% of the stars in the Milky Way, which are mainly red dwarfs. The Sun and its planets are currently in the Local Interstellar Cloud (also known as the "Local Fluff") in the Local Bubble (low-density, high-temperature gas) in the Orion Arm (between the more prominent Perseus and Sagittarius Arms) of the Milky Way. Sol is about 24,000-26,000 LY from the galactic center and very close to the galactic plane.
Vega (α Lyrae)- Vega is the 5th brightest star in the night sky and the 2nd brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is an A0V star approximately 25 LY away that is flattened at the poles due to its high rotation speed. Vega is 1/10 the age of the Sun, but it's already halfway through its life as a main sequence star. There is the possibility that Vega has its own little solar system of sorts- it may have orbiting planets. Vega is a vertex of the Summer Triangle (the other vertices are Altair and Deneb). The name is derived from the Arabic phrases for either "falling eagle" or "swooping vulture".
Wolf 359 (56 Leo, CN Leonis)- A very faint M6.5V star with an apparent magnitude of 13.54 (not visible to the naked eye) about 7.7 LY away. It is one of the nearest stars to us. Wolf 359 is a flare star with random changes in magnitude; it has a high flare rate with large amounts of energy being released. It could be an old star or a young star- no one can tell.
Deep Space Objects
These are the DSOs from the 2009 list in alphabetical order:
Andromeda Galaxy (M31, NGC 224)- About 2.5 million LY away, the Andromeda Galaxy is the closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way. In fact, it is one of the relatively few galaxies that are approaching the Sun, causing the light from its 1 trillion stars to be blue-shifted. With an apparent magnitude of 4.4, it's one the brightest Messier objects in the nighttime sky. The Andromeda Galaxy has a double nucleus: P1, a brighter nucleus with lots of reddish, cool stars, and P2, a supermassive black hole at the very center of the galaxy with more bluish, hotter stars. There was one recorded supernova in 1885. The name comes from the fact that the Andromeda Galaxy appear to be in the constellation Andromeda from our vantage point on Earth.
Beehive Cluster (M44, Praesepe (Latin: manger), NGC 2632)- An open cluster in the constellation Cancer- possibly of similar origin to the Hyades- the Beehive Cluster is about 600 million years old. It spans 510-620 LY across, with big bright stars towards the center of the cluster and smaller, dimmer stars on the outside fringes. M44 contains red giants, main sequence stars, and white dwarfs; about 68% of the stars are M-class, 30% F, G, or K-class, and about 2% A-class. The brightest individual stars have an apparent magnitude of about 6 to 6.5, while the Beehive Cluster as a whole is about 3.1.
Butterfly Cluster (M6, NGC 6405)- Located in the constellation Scorpius, the open cluster M6 is named for its vague resemblance to a butterfly. It has an apparent magnitude of 4.2 and is about 1600 LY away. Most of the stars in the Butterfly Cluster are hot, blue B-class stars, but the brightest one is BM Scorpii, a K-class orange giant.
Cassiopeia A- Cassiopeia A is a supernova remnant about 11,000 LY away. The supernova itself happened around 1667 (the most recent supernova in the Milky Way visible to the naked eye), and resulted from the collapse and explosion of a large star. Cassiopeia A emits lots of radio waves, but is very hard to see with the naked eye at the present day.
Cassiopeia B (Tycho's SNR)- A supernova remnant, left over from a supernova detected in November 1572 which remained highly visible for 2 years, then faded. The supernova resulted from a white dwarf accumulating too much matter and exploding. It is called Tycho's SNR after the astronomer Tycho Brahe, who was the most accurate observer of the supernova itself.
Crab Nebula (M1, NGC 1952)- A supernova remnant in the constellation Taurus, M1 is the result of a 1054 supernova where a supergiant star collapsed inwards and subsequently exploded. At the very center is the Crab Pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star that emits pulses of x-rays and gamma rays. In fact, the Crab Pulsar is the strongest persistent source of x-rays and gamma rays in the sky.
Dumbbell Nebula (M27, NGC 6853)- Located in the constellation Vulpecula, M27 is a planetary nebula about 1360 LY away from Earth. The Dumbbell Nebula was actually the first planetary nebula ever discovered, and its central star is the largest known white dwarf. It is about 10,000 years old and has an apparent magnitude of 7.5.
Globular Cluster (M13, NGC 6205)- A globular cluster (hence the name) about 25,100 LY away and 145 LY across in the constellation Hercules. M13 has several hundred thousand stars, but is barely visible from Earth, with an apparent magnitude of 5.8. Its brightest star is V11, which has an apparent magnitude of 11.95.
Helix Nebula (Eye of God, NGC 7293)- Approximately 700 LY away, the Helix Nebula is one of the closest (bright) planetary nebulas- very similar to the Ring and Dumbbell Nebulas. It is found in the constellation Aquarius and it spans about 2.5 LY.
Hyades- The Hyades are the closest open cluster to us at 151 LY away, located in the constellation Taurus. The 4 brightest stars in the Hyades (formerly A-class stars, now off the main sequence) form a V shape along with Aldebaran. It could share a common origin with the Beehive Cluster (M44). The name is from ancient Greek mythology- Hyades was the collective name of several weeping sisters who were turned into stars and therefore associated with rain.
Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)- An irregular galaxy found in the constellations Mensa and Dorado. The LMC might once have been a barred spiral that was disrupted by interaction with the Milky Way and the SMC. About 160,000 LY away, the LMC is the 3rd closest galaxy to us, but is moving farther and farther away, causing its light to be red-shifted. It's also the home of the Tarantula Nebula, which forms the most stars in the Local Group (Milky Way, Andromeda Galaxy, their satellite galaxies and a couple others) and the site of the nearest recent supernova, which happened in 1987. The LMC has an apparent magnitude of 0.9.
M84 (MGC 4374)- A lenticular galaxy (somewhere between an ellipse and a spiral) in the constellation Virgo. There have been 2 confirmed supernovas in M84 (1957 and 1991); a 3rd supernova in 1980 may have been in neighboring galaxies NGC 4387 or M86.
Milky Way Galaxy ("The Galaxy")- A barred spiral galaxy in the Local Group (which, in turn, is in the Virgo Supercluster) about 100,000 LY in diameter and 1,000 LY thick. Of the 200-400 billion stars in this galaxy, most are red dwarfs. The oldest ones are 12.8-14.4 billion years old. The galactic center is in the general direction of the constellation Sagittarius- in fact, Sagittarius A* is a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. It could collide with the Andromeda Galaxy in 3-4 billion years. The Milky Way can be seen as far north as Cassiopeia and as far south as Crux (the Southern Cross).
Orion Nebula (M42, NGC 1976)- A part of a larger nebula (the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex), the Orion nebula is about 1270 LY away and 24 LY across. It's the middle star in Orion's sword, with large O-class stars in the center. M42 has protoplanetary disks, brown dwarfs, and large supersonic "bullets" of gas. The Orion Nebula is quite prominent on infrared because of all the stars that are being formed. In 100,000 years, it will be wisps of gas around hot, new stars, like the Pleiades.
Ring Nebula (M57, NGC 6822)- A planetary nebula about 2300 LY away in the constellation Vega with apparent magnitude 9. The central star is evolving into a white dwarf (right now, it mainly consists of carbon and oxygen).
Pleiades (M45, Maia Nebula)- Another open cluster in the constellation Taurus; one of the closest to Earth at about 440 LY away. Most of the stars in M45 are hot, blue stars formed in the last 100 million years or so, but there are also some brown dwarfs. The cluster will survive for about another 250 million years, then be dispersed by gravity. The name Pleiades is from Greek for either "sailing ones", "many", or "flock of doves".
Sagittarius A*- Most likely a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way about 44 million km in diameter, Sagittarius A* is a source of radio waves. It is about 26,000 LY away.
Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC)- A dwarf galaxy about 200,000 LY away in the Local Group. The SMC may used to have been a barred spiral until it was disrupted by nearby galaxies. It has an apparent magnitude of 2.7 and the light coming from it is red-shifted.
Trapezium- An open cluster in the Orion Nebula with an apparent magnitude of about 4. There were 8 stars discovered in the area by 1888 (several of those stars have now been discovered to have binaries. The name Trapezium comes from the fact that the 4 brightest stars form a trapezoid or a trapezium.
Veil Nebula (Cygnus Loop, Witch's Broom Nebula)- A very large, faint supernova remnant 1400-2600 LY away in the constellation Cygnus. The supernova was somewhere between 5000 and 8000 years ago. The Veil Nebula emits hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur, along with producing a lot of x-rays. It is quite difficult to see with the naked eye.
Whirlpool Galaxy (M51, NGC 5194)- A red-shifted galaxy (moving farther away from the Sun) in the constellation Canes Venatica about 23 million LY away, the Whirlpool Galaxy is famous for its distinct spiral shape. This is thought to be caused by interaction between M51 and a nearby galaxy, NGC 5195. There is also thought to be a black hole at the very center of the galaxy. In 2005, a supernova was detected in the Whirlpool Galaxy with highest apparent magnitude 14.
Harvard Spectral Classification
There are 7 spectral Classes (O,B,A,F,G,K,M). This order is based on decreasing surface temperature. A Class stars have the strongest Hydrogen lines, while M Class stars have the weakest hydrogen lines. Each class is then subdivided into 10 subdivisions (0-9).
The following is a table with properties of each of the spectral classes.
| Type | Temperature (Kelvin) | Color | Hydrogen |
|---|---|---|---|
| O | 30,000-60,000 | Blue | Weak |
| B | 10,000-30,000 | Blue-White | Medium |
| A | 7,500-10,000 | White | Strong |
| F | 6,000-7,500 | White | Medium |
| G | 5,000-6,000 | Yellow | Weak |
| K | 3,500-5,000 | Yellow-Orange | Very Weak |
| M | 2,000-3,500 | Red | Very Weak |
The following is the class of each of the stars on the list:
Class O- None on the list
Class B- Rigel, Spica, Regulus, Algol, and Spica
Class A- Vega, Sirius A, Deneb, Altair, and Castor
Class F- Procyon, and Polaris
Class G- The Sun, and Capella
Class K- Arcturus, Aldebaran, and Pollux,
Class M- Betelgeuse, Wolf 359, and Antares
Yerkes Spectral Classification
The Yerkes Spectral Classification is based on luminosity and temperature. It is also known as luminosity classes. There are seven main luminosity classes:
Type Ia- Bright Supergiants
Type Ib- Normal Supergiants
Type II- Bright Giant
Type III- Normal Giant
Type IV- Sub-Giants
Type V- Main Sequence
Type VI- Sub-Dwarf
VII- White Dwarf
Galaxies
There are three main types of galaxies: Spiral, Elliptical, and Irregular.
Spiral Galaxies
The spiral galaxies on the list for 2009 are:
- M31 Andromeda Galaxy (in Andromeda)
- M51 Whirlpool Galaxy (In Canes Venatica)
- Milky Way Galaxy (Barred-Spiral)
Elliptical Galaxy
Elliptical Galaxies appear just like they sound- they are elliptical/ spherical. Elliptical Galaxies contain mostly old Population II stars, and also, they have a very low rate of star formation because there is barely any interstellar matter in elliptical galaxies. There is the least amount of elliptical Galaxies in the known Universe.
The Elliptical Galaxies on the list for 2009 are:
-M84 (in Virgo)
Concerning M84, some astronomers believe that it actually may be a Lenticular Galaxy (which is a half-way point between a Spiral galaxy and an Elliptical galaxy)
Irregular Galaxies
Irregular also appear just how they sound- they are without a definite shape. They are normally formed by Spiral or
The Irregular Galaxies on the list for 2009 are:
-Large Magellanic Cloud (in Dorado and Mensa)
-Small Magellanic Cloud (in Tucana)
The Sun
Here is a good breakdown of the layers of the sun
Star Identification
The best way to study for the first part of the event is to go outside and look at the sky. If you are not familiar with the constellations this is a great way to learn them. Look up into the sky and use a star chart to find a few constellations and stars. Doing this even a few times a month really pays off.
Another great way to study for this event to get you ready to go outside is to make flash cards with the constellation on the front and the name and the deep sky objects on the back.
It is helpful if you can relate easy-to-find constellations such as Orion or Ursa Major (Big Dipper) to the constellations around them. This guides you to the constellation via others, rather than having to rely only on the shape. On your reference sheet, you may want to include a section about how to find the constellations you have trouble with.
Stellar Information
"Students will demonstrate an understanding of the basic concepts of mathematics and astrophysics relating to stellar evolution."
For the second part of the event you have to know about the general characteristics of stars, galaxies, star clusters, etc. You must be able to figure out a star's spectral class, surface temperature, and evolutionary stage (i.e. giant, supergiant, main sequence, white dwarf) by reading an H-R diagram.
Another thing you should do is learn the life cycles of various types of stars. Look at some of the pictures below and try to put them in order.
You should also be familiar with redshift and blueshift and how they are related to the (theoretical) creation of the universe, something that many people overlook.
Another aspect of the event that is new for 2009 is that you must be able to label a model of the sun and be familiar with its spectral class and placement on an H-R diagram as well as other general characteristics.
You are asked to use information which includes the following:
- Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams
- Spectra
- Light curves
- Kepler's laws
- Energy transfer
- Impulse-momentum
- Circular motion
- Radiation laws (Wien's and Stefan-Boltzmann)
- Period-luminosity relationship
- Stellar magnitudes and classification
- Parallax
- Slides
- Photographs
- Star charts and animations
You may also be asked to complete activities which include:
- Determine answers relating to stellar birth
- Determine answers relating to stellar evolution and the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
- Determine answers relating to the motions and evolution of star systems
- Identify and be knowledgeable about multi-wavelength images of the different stages of stellar evolution listed above
- Identify, know the location, be knowledgeable about, and/or answer questions relating to the stellar evolution of the
following objects...
Pictures
Know these pictures!!!: (Harvard's Chandrasekhar X-Ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope are to be credited with these images)
Cas A (Cassiopeia A) - super nova remnant
(infrared, optical, radio, and X-ray images)
M1 (Crab Nebula) - Nebula
(infrared, optical, radio, and X-ray images
Crab Pulsar - fastest pulsar known (30 pulses per second)
Orion Trapezium Cluster - 4 hot young stars in an open cluster in the Orion Nebula
Familiarize yourself with these pictures, print them out, or put them on your laptop. You may also need to know about other pictures and the pictures of the stars on the list.
Helpful Tips
Identification certainly is not the most important part of this event but I have found it is it easiest way to begin your study. For the rest of the event, you must study the things mentioned in the table above (make it a checklist if you want). This task is facilitated by Astronomy Today--I have found all the information I have ever needed, either during a test or after a test, in that book.
Sometimes, the test will use a StarLab or planetarium for the identification portion. I would advise putting some time in to familiarize yourself with how the skies look on it.
Also, there is always a chance that a bad star map may be used, so make sure to get yourself accustomed to anything that may be thrown at you.
The best way to study for the identification part, is not only maps, but actually going outside and finding constellations and stars in the night sky. Not only is star-gazing fun, but it is one of the best ways to learn the location of the constellations and the stars that are on the list.
Sample Tests
Reach for the Stars Test (2009)
Useful Resources
Astronomy Today by Eric J. Chaisson [1] [2]
Foundations of Astronomy by Michael A. Seeds [3] [4] [5] [6]
New York Coaches Conference [7]
