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Unit 10
Stars Formation
34
Astronomy
Undergraduate 2
11/04/2012

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Term
How much of the visible mass of the Milky Way Galaxy is int the form of gas and dust spread out between the stars?
Definition
10%
Term
How is gas distributed in interstellar space?
Definition
in clumps, concentrated in interstellar clouds
Term
Images of the Milky Way have large dark regions because
Definition
dark dust clouds block the light of stars behind them
Term
What is the characteristic color of a reflection nebula?
Definition
blue
Term
What causes the characteristic blue color of a reflection nebula?
Definition
scattering of starlight from dust grains in the nebula
Term
The spectrum of light coming from a reflection nebula would look like
Definition
the spectrum of the star illuminating the nebula
Term
What is an emission nebula?
Definition
a glowing region of ionized hydrogen around one or more hot O- and B- type stars
Term
The bright stars at the center of an emission nebula ( H II region) are
Definition
young O and B stars
Term
An emission nebula is formed near a star that emits large amounts of
Definition
Ultraviolet
Term
A reflection nebula's color
Definition
is blue because dust clouds reflect blue most effectively
Term
Emission nebulae are important because
Definition
they are regions of very active star formation
Term
Most emission nebulae that we can see
Definition
form on the edge of dense molecular clouds
Term
In which type of nebula would you expect to find stars forming?
Definition
emission nebula
Term
Which type of nebula can be studied most easily to gain the most information about the composition of the interstellar medium?
Definition
emission nebula
Term
The Orion Nebula is a
Definition
large interstellar gas and dust cloud containing young stars
Term
A bright nebula surrounding a class F star would have to be a (n)
Definition
reflection nebula
Term
New stars are formed from
Definition
huge, cool dust and gas clouds
Term
There are several mechanisms that can trigger star formation in a cold, dark nebula. In each mechanism, the key to star formation is
Definition
compressing the gas and dust so that gravitation will overcome the gas pressure
Term
All of these are common ways of causing star formation EXCEPT
Definition
a small cluster of brown dwarf stars collide and form new stars
Term
What is a protostar?
Definition
sphere of gas after collapse from an interstellar cloud belt before nuclear reactions have begun
Term
Where in the universe would you look for a protostar?
Definition
in dense dust and gas clouds
Term
Which of the following is closest to the amount of time it takes a cloud of gas and dust to collapse and form a new star?
Definition
10 million years
Term
A star's protostellar evolution is finished when the core temperature reaches
Definition
10 million K
Term
A protostellar nebula starts in the upper right corner of an H-R diagram. As the protostar collapses, it becomes
Definition
warmer and less luminous
Term
The position that a star will take on the Zero-Age Main Sequence depends mostly on the ___ of the cloud that forms the protostar
Definition
mass
Term
If a collapsing cloud fragment is too small, it will not form a star, but will instead form a
Definition
brown dwarf
Term
What is a T Tauri star?
Definition
Young G, K, or M star that is ejecting gas
Term
Herbig-Haro and T-Tauri objects
Definition
are short, violent stages in the final part of a protostar's evolutionary track
Term
A brown dwarf is a
Definition
star of mass less then 0.08 solar mass whose core temperature is too low to initiate hydrogen fusion
Term
The definition of a main-sequence star is a star
Definition
in which nuclear fusion reactions generate sufficient energy to oppose further condensation of the star.
Term
Clusters of stars which formed at the same time in the same place are
Definition
common, because most cloud fragments as they collapse
Term
Star clusters are particularly interesting to astronomer because
Definition
The formed at the same place and time, so they shoe the effect of stellar evolution
Term
Our Sun
Definition
could not create an emission nebula because it is too cool
Term
A large molecular cloud complex can contain enough mass to form ___ stars like our sun
Definition
millions
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