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The Stars
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Most stars, including the sun, are "main sequence stars," fueled by nuclear fusion converting hydrogen into helium. For these stars, the hotter they are, the brighter. These stars are in the most stable part of their existence; this stage generally lasts for about 5 billion years. As stars begin to die, they become giants and supergiants (above the main sequence). These stars have depleted their hydrogen supply and are very old. The core contracts as the outer layers expand. These stars will eventually explode (becoming a planetary nebula or supernova, depending on their mass) and then become white dwarfs, neutron stars, or black holes (again depending on their mass). Smaller stars (like our Sun) eventually become faint white dwarfs (hot, white, dim stars) that are below the main sequence. These hot, shrinking stars have depleted their nuclear fuels and will eventually become cold, dark, black dwarfs.
Spectral Classes
Averag Averag Approximat e Average Star e Mass Main e Surface Radius Luminosit Typ Color (The Characteristic Temperatur (The y (The Sun e Sun = s e Sun = = 1) 1) 1) Singly ionized helium lines (H I) either in emission or 1,400,000 absorption. Strong UV continuum. 20,000 Neutral helium lines (H II) in absorption. Hydrogen (H) lines strongest for A0 stars, decreasing for other A's. Ca II absorption. Examples
Blue
over 25,000 K
60
15
10 Lacertra
Blue
11,000 25,000 K
18
Rigel Spica
Blue
7,500 11,000 K
3.2
2.5
80
Sirius, Vega
1.7
1.3
Canopus, Procyon
White
Metallic lines become noticeable. Absorption lines of neutral metallic atoms and ions (e.g. once-ionized calcium). Metallic lines, some blue continuum.
White to 5,000 - 6,000 Yello K w Orang 3,500 - 5,000 e to K Red Red under 3,500 K
1.1
1.1
1.2
Sun, Capella
0.8
0.9
Arcturus, Aldebaran
0.3
0.4
Subtypes Within each stellar type, stars are placed into subclasses (from 0 to 9) based on its position within the scale. The Yerkes Luminosity Classes: (by William Wilson Morgan and Philip Keenan)
TYPE Ia Ib II III IV V VI VII Star Very luminous supergiants Less luminous supergiants Luminous giants Giants
Luminosity is the total brightness of a star (or galaxy). Luminosity is the total amount of energy that a star radiates each second (including all wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation).
In the Yerkes classification scheme, stars are assigned to groups according to the width of Main sequence stars (dwarf stars) their spectral lines. For a group of stars with the same temperature, the luminosity class Subdwarf differentiates between their sizes (supergiants, White Dwarf giants, main-sequence stars, and subdwarfs).
Subgiants
DWARF STARS Dwarf stars are relatively small stars, up to 20 times larger than our sun and up to 20,000 times brighter. Our sun is a dwarf star. YELLOW DWARF Yellow dwarfs are small, main sequence stars. The Sun is a yellow dwarf.
RED DWARF A red dwarf is a small, cool, very faint, main sequence star whose surface temperature is under about 4,000 K. Red dwarfs are the most common type of star. Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf.
BLUE GIANT A blue giant is a huge, very hot, blue star. It is a post-main sequence star that burns helium. SUPERGIANT A supergiant is the largest known type of star; some are almost as large as our entire solar system. Betelgeuse and Rigel are supergiants. These stars are rare. When supergiants die they supernova and become black holes.
someday turn into a white dwarf and then a black dwarf. The companion of Sirius is a white dwarf. BROWN DWARF A brown dwarf is a "star" whose mass is too small to have nuclear fusion occur at its core (the temperature and pressure at its core are insufficient for fusion). A brown dwarf is not very luminous. It is usually regarded as having a mass between 10 28 kg and 84 x 1028. NEUTRON STAR A neutron star is a very small, super-dense star which is composed mostly of tightlypacked neutrons. It has a thin atmosphere of hydrogen. It has a diameter of about 5-10 miles (5-16 km) and a density of roughly 10 15 gm/cm3. PULSAR A pulsar is a rapidly spinning neutron star that emits energy in pulses.
Binary Stars:
DOUBLE STAR A double star is two stars that appear close to one another in the sky. Some are true binaries (two stars that revolve around one another); others just appear together from the Earth because they are both in the same line-ofsight. BINARY STAR A binary star is a system of two stars that rotate around a common center of mass (the barycenter). About half of all stars are in a group of at least two stars. Polaris (the pole star of the Northern Hemisphere of Earth) is part of a binary star system.
ECLIPSING BINARY An eclipsing binary is two close stars that appear to be a single star varying in
brightness. The variation in brightness is due to the stars periodically obscuring or enhancing one another. This binary star system is tilted (with respect ot us) so that its orbital plane is viewed from its edge. X-RAY BINARY STAR X-ray binary stars are a special type of binary star in which one of the stars is a collapsed object such as a white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole. As matter is stripped from the normal star, it falls into the collapsed star, producing X-rays.
A Mira variable star is a variable star whose brightness and size cycle over a very long time period, in the order of many months. Miras are pulsating red giants that vary in magnitude as much as a factor of many hundred (by 6 or 8 magnitudes). Mira variables were named after the star Mira, whose variations were discovered in 1596.