This series from the Charles W. Bown Planetarium explores a different variable star each month. 

While stars do twinkle at the night sky because of Earth’s turbulent atmosphere, some stars actually change brightness on their own.

Many of the stars we see get brighter and even fainter over various periods of time. Some stars dim, brighten, dim again, and so on…in less than a second. Other stars take years to vary their brightness—and not because the star is dying. These stars are called “variable stars.”

This example episode is about Betelegeuse. See handout below for full list of available star episodes.

Produced by Ball State University—The Charles W. Brown Planetarium

Narrated by Dayna Thompson

Runtime: about 3 min (varies with each episode)

Audience: suitable for grades 3 and up

Educational Resources
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO)

Star Episode Handouts:
   • Algol
   • Betelgeuse
   • Cepheids
   • Pleione
   • Propus
   • R Aquilae
   • R Leonis
   • R Scuti
   • V Hydrae
   • Y Canum Venaticorum