Stars and Nebulae

Types of Stars

Main Sequence Stars

When temperature is plotted against luminosity, many stars line up along a curve called the main sequence. Large, hot, bright stars are found on the left of the sequence. Small, cool, dim stars are on the right.

Each star's location on the main sequence is determined by the amount of hydrogen it managed to capture as it formed from its parent gas cloud.

Next

[1] - [3] - [3] - [4] - [5] - [6]

These graphs are called Hertzsprung-Russell or HR diagrams. Temperature and spectral class are directly related. Luminosity and star size ae also directly related. Either quantity from each pair can serve as an axis.