Lesson: Classifying Stars by Brightness and Temperature Physics

In this lesson, we will learn how to classify stars according to their brightness (or absolute magnitude) and their temperature (using their color).

Lesson Plan

Students will be able to

recall that the brightness of stars is measured using a scale called brightness magnitude,
recall that lower-value magnitudes actually correspond to brighter stars,
recall that the surface temperature of a star can be approximately determined by its color,
recall that bluer stars are hotter stars,
recall that redder stars are colder stars,
recall that white or yellow stars are stars with a similar surface temperature to the Sun.