Asterisks on standings page

It's clear that these asterisks are for teams who clinched a postseason birth. In some cases these asterisks are black and others they are green. Am I correct in assuming that the green asterisks will remain green until a team has either been eliminated or won the championship?

Two samples as of today:
All green - http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/league/425000
Only two green teams - http://onlinegames.strat-o-matic.com/league/424940

I never even noticed they were different colors!

I never did either but got lucky and noticed the different shades in that league I previously mentioned.

I also wonder if these asterisks immediately appear after a playoff spot has been clinched (during the season) or do they only show up after the season has completed?

I'm currently in a finals so I checked and the black asterisk signifies the team has been eliminated from the playoffs. When the championship is determined all playoff teams have black *