In
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
, stellar classification is the classification of
star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
s based on their
spectral
''Spectral'' is a 2016 3D military science fiction, supernatural horror fantasy and action-adventure thriller war film directed by Nic Mathieu. Written by himself, Ian Fried, and George Nolfi from a story by Fried and Mathieu. The film stars ...
characteristics.
Electromagnetic radiation
In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) consists of waves of the electromagnetic field, electromagnetic (EM) field, which propagate through space and carry momentum and electromagnetic radiant energy. It includes radio waves, microwaves, inf ...
from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a
prism
Prism usually refers to:
* Prism (optics), a transparent optical component with flat surfaces that refract light
* Prism (geometry), a kind of polyhedron
Prism may also refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Prism (geology), a type of sedimentary ...
or
diffraction grating
In optics, a diffraction grating is an optical component with a periodic structure that diffracts light into several beams travelling in different directions (i.e., different diffraction angles). The emerging coloration is a form of structura ...
into a
spectrum
A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...
exhibiting the
rainbow
A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
of colors interspersed with
spectral line
A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from emission or absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to iden ...
s. Each line indicates a particular
chemical element
A chemical element is a species of atoms that have a given number of protons in their nuclei, including the pure substance consisting only of that species. Unlike chemical compounds, chemical elements cannot be broken down into simpler sub ...
or
molecule
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...
, with the line strength indicating the abundance of that element. The strengths of the different spectral lines vary mainly due to the temperature of the
photosphere
The photosphere is a star's outer shell from which light is radiated.
The term itself is derived from Ancient Greek roots, φῶς, φωτός/''phos, photos'' meaning "light" and σφαῖρα/''sphaira'' meaning "sphere", in reference to it ...
, although in some cases there are true abundance differences. The ''spectral class'' of a star is a short code primarily summarizing the
ionization
Ionization, or Ionisation is the process by which an atom or a molecule acquires a negative or positive charge by gaining or losing electrons, often in conjunction with other chemical changes. The resulting electrically charged atom or molecule i ...
state, giving an objective measure of the photosphere's temperature.
Most stars are currently classified under the Morgan–Keenan (MK) system using the letters ''O'', ''B'', ''A'', ''F'', ''G'', ''K'', and ''M'', a sequence from the hottest (''O'' type) to the coolest (''M'' type). Each letter class is then subdivided using a numeric digit with ''0'' being hottest and ''9'' being coolest (e.g., A8, A9, F0, and F1 form a sequence from hotter to cooler). The sequence has been expanded with classes for other stars and star-like objects that do not fit in the classical system, such as class ''D'' for
white dwarf
A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
s and classes ''S'' and ''C'' for
carbon star
A carbon star (C-type star) is typically an asymptotic giant branch star, a luminous red giant, whose atmosphere contains more carbon than oxygen. The two elements combine in the upper layers of the star, forming carbon monoxide, which consumes mos ...
s.
In the MK system, a
luminosity class
In astronomy, stellar classification is the classification of stars based on their spectral characteristics. Electromagnetic radiation from the star is analyzed by splitting it with a prism or diffraction grating into a spectrum exhibiting the ...
is added to the spectral class using
Roman numerals
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
. This is based on the width of certain absorption lines in the star's spectrum, which vary with the density of the atmosphere and so distinguish giant stars from dwarfs. Luminosity class ''0'' or ''Ia+'' is used for ''
hypergiant
A hypergiant (luminosity class 0 or Ia+) is a very rare type of star that has an extremely high luminosity, mass, size and mass loss because of its extreme stellar winds. The term ''hypergiant'' is defined as luminosity class 0 (zero) in the MK ...
s'', class ''I'' for ''
supergiant
Supergiants are among the most massive and most luminous stars. Supergiant stars occupy the top region of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram with absolute visual magnitudes between about −3 and −8. The temperature range of supergiant stars spa ...
s'', class ''II'' for bright ''
giants
A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore.
Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to:
Mythology and religion
*Giants (Greek mythology)
*Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...
'', class ''III'' for regular ''giants'', class ''IV'' for ''
subgiant
A subgiant is a star that is brighter than a normal main-sequence star of the same spectral class, but not as bright as giant stars. The term subgiant is applied both to a particular spectral luminosity class and to a stage in the evolution of ...
s'', class ''V'' for ''
main-sequence
In astronomy, the main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Hert ...
stars'', class ''sd'' (or ''VI'') for ''
subdwarf
A subdwarf, sometimes denoted by "sd", is a star with luminosity class VI under the Yerkes spectral classification system. They are defined as stars with luminosity 1.5 to 2 magnitudes lower than that of main-sequence stars of the same spectral ...
s'', and class ''D'' (or ''VII'') for ''
white dwarf
A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
s''. The full spectral class for the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
is then G2V, indicating a main-sequence star with a surface temperature around 5,800 K.
Conventional colour description
![TernaryColorTmap](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/TernaryColorTmap.PNG)
The conventional colour description takes into account only the peak of the stellar spectrum. In actuality, however, stars radiate in all parts of the spectrum. Because all spectral colours combined appear white, the actual apparent colours the human eye would observe are far lighter than the conventional colour descriptions would suggest. This characteristic of 'lightness' indicates that the simplified assignment of colours within the spectrum can be misleading. Excluding colour-contrast effects in dim light, in typical viewing conditions there are no green, cyan, indigo, or violet stars.
"Yellow" dwarfs such as the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
are white,
"red" dwarfs are a deep shade of yellow/orange, and
"brown" dwarfs do not literally appear brown, but hypothetically would appear dim red or grey/black to a nearby observer.
Modern classification
![Morgan-Keenan spectral classification](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Morgan-Keenan_spectral_classification.svg)
The modern classification system is known as the ''Morgan–Keenan'' (MK) classification. Each star is assigned a spectral class (from the older Harvard spectral classification, which did not include luminosity) and a luminosity class using Roman numerals as explained below, forming the star's spectral type.
Other modern
stellar classification systems, such as the
UBV system
The UBV photometric system (from ''Ultraviolet, Blue, Visual''), also called the Johnson system (or Johnson-Morgan system), is a photometric system usually employed for classifying stars according to their colors.
It was the first standardized p ...
, are based on
color indices—the measured differences in three or more
color magnitudes. Those numbers are given labels such as "U−V" or "B−V", which represent the colors passed by two standard filters (e.g. ''U''ltraviolet, ''B''lue and ''V''isual).
Harvard spectral classification
The ''Harvard system'' is a one-dimensional classification scheme by astronomer
Annie Jump Cannon
Annie Jump Cannon (; December 11, 1863 – April 13, 1941) was an American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C. Pickering, she is credited with the creation of ...
, who re-ordered and simplified the prior alphabetical system by Draper (see
#History). Stars are grouped according to their spectral characteristics by single letters of the alphabet, optionally with numeric subdivisions. Main-sequence stars vary in surface temperature from approximately 2,000 to 50,000
K, whereas more-evolved stars can have temperatures above 100,000 K. Physically, the classes indicate the temperature of the star's atmosphere and are normally listed from hottest to coldest.
![H-R diagram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/H-R_diagram.svg)
A common
mnemonic
A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding.
Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...
for remembering the order of the spectral type letters, from hottest to coolest, is "
Oh,
Be
A Fine
Guy/
Girl:
Kiss
Me!".
The spectral classes O through M, as well as other more specialized classes discussed later, are subdivided by
Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals are the ten numerical digits: , , , , , , , , and . They are the most commonly used symbols to write Decimal, decimal numbers. They are also used for writing numbers in other systems such as octal, and for writing identifiers ...
(0–9), where 0 denotes the hottest stars of a given class. For example, A0 denotes the hottest stars in class A and A9 denotes the coolest ones. Fractional numbers are allowed; for example, the star
Mu Normae
μ Normae, Latinised as Mu Normae, is a blue supergiant star of spectral type O9.7 Iab, located in the constellation of Norma.
It shines as bright as 339,000 suns and is weighs 40 solar masses. It varies in visual magnitude between 4.87 ...
is classified as O9.7.
The
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
is classified as G2.
Conventional color descriptions are traditional in astronomy, and represent colors relative to the mean color of an A class star, which is considered to be white. The apparent color
descriptions are what the observer would see if trying to describe the stars under a dark sky without aid to the eye, or with binoculars. However, most stars in the sky, except the brightest ones, appear white or bluish white to the unaided eye because they are too dim for color vision to work. Red supergiants are cooler and redder than dwarfs of the same spectral type, and stars with particular spectral features such as
carbon stars
A carbon star (C-type star) is typically an asymptotic giant branch star, a luminous red giant, whose atmosphere contains more carbon than oxygen. The two elements combine in the upper layers of the star, forming carbon monoxide, which consumes mos ...
may be far redder than any black body.
The fact that the Harvard classification of a star indicated its surface or
photospheric
The photosphere is a star's outer shell from which light is radiated.
The term itself is derived from Ancient Greek roots, φῶς, φωτός/''phos, photos'' meaning "light" and σφαῖρα/''sphaira'' meaning "sphere", in reference to it ...
temperature
Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer.
Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...
(or more precisely, its
effective temperature
The effective temperature of a body such as a star or planet is the temperature of a black body that would emit the same total amount of electromagnetic radiation. Effective temperature is often used as an estimate of a body's surface temperature ...
) was not fully understood until after its development, though by the time the first
Hertzsprung–Russell diagram
The Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, abbreviated as H–R diagram, HR diagram or HRD, is a scatter plot of stars showing the relationship between the stars' absolute magnitudes or luminosity, luminosities versus their stellar classifications or eff ...
was formulated (by 1914), this was generally suspected to be true. In the 1920s, the Indian physicist
Meghnad Saha
Meghnad Saha (6 October 1893 – 16 February 1956) was an Indian astrophysicist who developed the Saha ionization equation, used to describe chemical and physical conditions in stars. His work allowed astronomers to accurately relate the sp ...
derived a theory of ionization by extending well-known ideas in physical chemistry pertaining to the dissociation of molecules to the ionization of atoms. First he applied it to the solar chromosphere, then to stellar spectra.
Harvard astronomer
Cecilia Payne
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (born Cecilia Helena Payne; – ) was a British-born American astronomer and astrophysicist who proposed in her 1925 doctoral thesis that stars were composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. Her groundbreaking conclu ...
then demonstrated that the ''O-B-A-F-G-K-M'' spectral sequence is actually a sequence in temperature. Because the classification sequence predates our understanding that it is a temperature sequence, the placement of a spectrum into a given subtype, such as B3 or A7, depends upon (largely subjective) estimates of the strengths of absorption features in stellar spectra. As a result, these subtypes are not evenly divided into any sort of mathematically representable intervals.
Yerkes spectral classification
![Dwarf star spectra (luminosity class V) from Pickles 1998](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Dwarf_star_spectra_%28luminosity_class_V%29_from_Pickles_1998.png)
The ''Yerkes spectral classification'', also called the ''MK,'' or Morgan-Keenan (alternatively referred to as the MKK, or Morgan-Keenan-Kellman) system from the authors' initials, is a system of stellar spectral classification introduced in 1943 by
William Wilson Morgan
William Wilson Morgan (January 3, 1906 – June 21, 1994) was an American astronomer and astrophysicist. The principal theme in Morgan's work was stellar and galaxy classification. He is also known for helping prove the existence of spiral arms i ...
,
Philip C. Keenan, and
Edith Kellman from
Yerkes Observatory
Yerkes Observatory ( ) is an astronomical observatory located in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, United States. The observatory was operated by the University of Chicago Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics from its founding in 1897 to 2018. Owne ...
. This two-dimensional (
temperature
Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer.
Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...
and
luminosity
Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic power (light), the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object over time. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electromagnetic energy emitted per unit of time by a st ...
) classification scheme is based on
spectral line
A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from emission or absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to iden ...
s sensitive to stellar temperature and
surface gravity
The surface gravity, ''g'', of an astronomical object is the gravitational acceleration experienced at its surface at the equator, including the effects of rotation. The surface gravity may be thought of as the acceleration due to gravity experien ...
, which is related to luminosity (whilst the ''Harvard classification'' is based on just surface temperature). Later, in 1953, after some revisions to the list of standard stars and classification criteria, the scheme was named the ''Morgan–Keenan classification'', or ''MK'',
which remains in use today.
Denser stars with higher surface gravity exhibit greater
pressure broadening
A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from emission (electromagnetic radiation), emission or absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, ...
of spectral lines. The gravity, and hence the pressure, on the surface of a
giant star
A giant star is a star with substantially larger radius and luminosity than a main sequence, main-sequence (or ''dwarf'') star of the same effective temperature, surface temperature.Giant star, entry in ''Astronomy Encyclopedia'', ed. Patrick Moo ...
is much lower than for a
dwarf star
A dwarf star is a star of relatively small size and low luminosity. Most main sequence stars are dwarf stars. The meaning of the word "dwarf" was later extended to some star-sized objects that are not stars, and compact stellar remnants which are ...
because the radius of the giant is much greater than a dwarf of similar mass. Therefore, differences in the spectrum can be interpreted as ''luminosity effects'' and a luminosity class can be assigned purely from examination of the spectrum.
A number of different ''luminosity classes'' are distinguished, as listed in the table below.
Marginal cases are allowed; for example, a star may be either a supergiant or a bright giant, or may be in between the subgiant and main-sequence classifications.
In these cases, two special symbols are used:
*A slash (/) means that a star is either one class or the other.
*A dash (-) means that the star is in between the two classes.
For example, a star classified as A3-4III/IV would be in between spectral types A3 and A4, while being either a giant star or a subgiant.
Sub-dwarf classes have also been used: VI for sub-dwarfs (stars slightly less luminous than the main sequence).
Nominal luminosity class VII (and sometimes higher numerals) is now rarely used for white dwarf or "hot sub-dwarf" classes, since the temperature-letters of the main sequence and giant stars no longer apply to white dwarfs.
Occasionally, letters ''a'' and ''b'' are applied to luminosity classes other than supergiants; for example, a giant star slightly less luminous than typical may be given a luminosity class of IIIb, while a luminosity class IIIa indicates a star slightly brighter than a typical giant.
A sample of extreme V stars with strong absorption in He II λ4686 spectral lines have been given the ''Vz'' designation. An example star is
HD 93129 B.
Spectral peculiarities
Additional nomenclature, in the form of lower-case letters, can follow the spectral type to indicate peculiar features of the spectrum.
For example,
59 Cygni is listed as spectral type B1.5Vnne,
indicating a spectrum with the general classification B1.5V, as well as very broad absorption lines and certain emission lines.
History
The reason for the odd arrangement of letters in the Harvard classification is historical, having evolved from the earlier Secchi classes and been progressively modified as understanding improved.
Secchi classes
During the 1860s and 1870s, pioneering stellar spectroscopist
Angelo Secchi
Angelo Secchi (; 28 June 1818 – 26 February 1878) was an Italian Catholic priest, astronomer from the Italian region of Emilia. He was director of the observatory at the Pontifical Gregorian University (then called the Roman College) for 28 y ...
created the ''Secchi classes'' in order to classify observed spectra. By 1866, he had developed three classes of stellar spectra, shown in the table below.
In the late 1890s, this classification began to be superseded by the Harvard classification, which is discussed in the remainder of this article.
The
Roman numerals
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
used for Secchi classes should not be confused with the completely unrelated Roman numerals used for Yerkes luminosity classes and the proposed neutron star classes.
Draper system
In the 1880s, the astronomer
Edward C. Pickering
Edward Charles Pickering (July 19, 1846 – February 3, 1919) was an American astronomer and physicist and the older brother of William Henry Pickering. Along with Hermann Carl Vogel, Carl Vogel, Pickering discovered the first spectroscopic binary ...
began to make a survey of stellar spectra at the
Harvard College Observatory
The Harvard College Observatory (HCO) is an institution managing a complex of buildings and multiple instruments used for astronomical research by the Harvard University Department of Astronomy. It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United St ...
, using the objective-prism method. A first result of this work was the ''
Draper Catalogue of Stellar Spectra'', published in 1890.
Williamina Fleming
(15 May 1857 – 21 May 1911) was a Scottish-American astronomer. She was a single mother, hired by the director of the Harvard College Observatory to help in the photographic classification of stellar spectra. She helped develop a common d ...
classified most of the spectra in this catalogue and was credited with classifying over 10,000 featured stars and discovering 10 novae and more than 200 variable stars.
With the help of the
Harvard computers
The Harvard Computers was a team of women working as skilled workers to process astronomical data at the Harvard Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The team was directed by Edward Charles Pickering (1877 to 1919) and, followi ...
, especially
Williamina Fleming
(15 May 1857 – 21 May 1911) was a Scottish-American astronomer. She was a single mother, hired by the director of the Harvard College Observatory to help in the photographic classification of stellar spectra. She helped develop a common d ...
, the first iteration of the Henry Draper catalogue was devised to replace the Roman-numeral scheme established by Angelo Secchi.
The catalogue used a scheme in which the previously used Secchi classes (I to V) were subdivided into more specific classes, given letters from A to P. Also, the letter Q was used for stars not fitting into any other class.
[pp. 106–108, Hearnshaw 1986.] Fleming worked with Pickering to differentiate 17 different classes based on the intensity of hydrogen spectral lines, which causes variation in the wavelengths emanated from stars and results in variation in color appearance. The spectra in class A tended to produce the strongest hydrogen absorption lines while spectra in class O produced virtually no visible lines. The lettering system displayed the gradual decrease in hydrogen absorption in the spectral classes when moving down the alphabet. This classification system was later modified by Annie Jump Cannon and Antonia Maury to produce the Harvard spectral classification scheme.
The old Harvard system (1897)
In 1897, another astronomer at Harvard,
Antonia Maury
Antonia Caetana de Paiva Pereira Maury (March 21, 1866 – January 8, 1952) was an American astronomer who was the first to detect and calculate the orbit of a spectroscopic binary. She published an important early catalog of stellar spectra us ...
, placed the Orion subtype of Secchi class I ahead of the remainder of Secchi class I, thus placing the modern type B ahead of the modern type A. She was the first to do so, although she did not use lettered spectral types, but rather a series of twenty-two types numbered from I–XXII.
Because the 22 Roman numeral groupings didn't account for additional variations in spectra, three additional divisions were made to further specify differences: Lowercase letters were added to differentiate relative line appearance in spectra; the lines were defined as
Antonia Maury published her own stellar classification catalogue in 1897 called "Spectra of Bright Stars Photographed with the 11 inch Draper Telescope as Part of the Henry Draper Memorial", which included 4,800 photographs and Maury's analyses of 681 bright northern stars. This was the first instance in which a woman was credited for an observatory publication.
The current Harvard system (1912)
In 1901,
Annie Jump Cannon
Annie Jump Cannon (; December 11, 1863 – April 13, 1941) was an American astronomer whose cataloging work was instrumental in the development of contemporary stellar classification. With Edward C. Pickering, she is credited with the creation of ...
returned to the lettered types, but dropped all letters except O, B, A, F, G, K, M, and N used in that order, as well as P for planetary nebulae and Q for some peculiar spectra. She also used types such as B5A for stars halfway between types B and A, F2G for stars one fifth of the way from F to G, and so on.
Finally, by 1912, Cannon had changed the types B, A, B5A, F2G, etc. to B0, A0, B5, F2, etc. This is essentially the modern form of the Harvard classification system. This system was developed through the analysis of spectra on photographic plates, which could convert light emanated from stars into a readable spectrum.
Mount Wilson classes
![Ba b do8mag c6 big](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Ba_b_do8mag_c6_big.png)
A luminosity classification known as the Mount Wilson system was used to distinguish between stars of different luminosities.
This notation system is still sometimes seen on modern spectra.
Spectral types
The stellar classification system is
taxonomic
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification.
A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
, based on
type specimens
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...
, similar to classification of species in
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
: The categories are defined by one or more standard stars for each category and sub-category, with an associated description of the distinguishing features.
"Early" and "late" nomenclature
Stars are often referred to as ''early'' or ''late'' types. "Early" is a synonym for ''hotter'', while "late" is a synonym for ''cooler''.
Depending on the context, "early" and "late" may be absolute or relative terms. "Early" as an absolute term would therefore refer to O or B, and possibly A stars. As a relative reference it relates to stars hotter than others, such as "early K" being perhaps K0, K1, K2 and K3.
"Late" is used in the same way, with an unqualified use of the term indicating stars with spectral types such as K and M, but it can also be used for stars that are cool relative to other stars, as in using "late G" to refer to G7, G8, and G9.
In the relative sense, "early" means a lower Arabic numeral following the class letter, and "late" means a higher number.
This obscure terminology is a hold-over from a late nineteenth century model of
stellar evolution
Stellar evolution is the process by which a star changes over the course of time. Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years for the most massive to trillions of years for the least massive, which is cons ...
, which supposed that stars were powered by gravitational contraction via the
Kelvin–Helmholtz mechanism
The Kelvin–Helmholtz mechanism is an astronomical process that occurs when the surface of a star or a planet cools. The cooling causes the internal pressure to drop, and the star or planet shrinks as a result. This compression, in turn, heats t ...
, which is now known to not apply to
main-sequence star
In astronomy, the main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Hert ...
s. If that were true, then stars would start their lives as very hot "early-type" stars and then gradually cool down into "late-type" stars. This mechanism provided ages of the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
that were much smaller than what is observed in the
geologic record
The geologic record in stratigraphy, paleontology and other natural sciences refers to the entirety of the layers of rock strata. That is, deposits laid down by volcanism or by deposition of sediment derived from weathering detritus (clays, sand ...
, and was rendered obsolete by the discovery that stars are powered by
nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles ( neutrons or protons). The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifest ...
. The terms "early" and "late" were carried over, beyond the demise of the model they were based on.
Class O
![O5v-spectre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/O5v-spectre.png)
O-type stars are very hot and extremely luminous, with most of their radiated output in the
ultraviolet
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...
range. These are the rarest of all main-sequence stars. About 1 in 3,000,000 (0.00003%) of the main-sequence stars in the
solar neighborhood
The Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC), also known as the Local Fluff, is an interstellar cloud roughly across, through which the Solar System is moving. This feature overlaps a region around the Sun referred to as the solar neighborhood. It is unk ...
are O-type stars.
[These proportions are fractions of stars brighter than absolute magnitude 16; lowering this limit will render earlier types even rarer, whereas generally adding only to the M class.] Some of the
most massive stars
This is a list of the most massive stars that have been discovered, in solar masses ().
Uncertainties and caveats
Most of the masses listed below are contested and, being the subject of current research, remain under review and subject to consta ...
lie within this spectral class. O-type stars frequently have complicated surroundings that make measurement of their spectra difficult.
O-type spectra formerly were defined by the ratio of the strength of the
He II λ4541 relative to that of He I λ4471, where λ is the radiation
wavelength
In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.
It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tro ...
. Spectral type O7 was defined to be the point at which the two intensities are equal, with the He I line weakening towards earlier types. Type O3 was, by definition, the point at which said line disappears altogether, although it can be seen very faintly with modern technology. Due to this, the modern definition uses the ratio of the
nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...
line N IV λ4058 to N III λλ4634-40-42.
O-type stars have dominant lines of absorption and sometimes emission for
He II lines, prominent ionized (
Si IV,
O III,
N III, and
C III) and neutral
helium
Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...
lines, strengthening from O5 to O9, and prominent hydrogen
Balmer lines
The Balmer series, or Balmer lines in atomic physics, is one of a set of six named series describing the spectral line emissions of the hydrogen atom. The Balmer series is calculated using the Balmer formula, an empirical equation discovered b ...
, although not as strong as in later types. Higher-mass O-type stars do not retain extensive atmospheres due to the extreme velocity of their
stellar wind
A stellar wind is a flow of gas ejected from the upper atmosphere of a star. It is distinguished from the bipolar outflows characteristic of young stars by being less collimated, although stellar winds are not generally spherically symmetric.
D ...
, which may reach 2,000 km/s. Because they are so massive, O-type stars have very hot cores and burn through their hydrogen fuel very quickly, so they are the first stars to leave the
main sequence
In astronomy, the main sequence is a continuous and distinctive band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness. These color-magnitude plots are known as Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams after their co-developers, Ejnar Her ...
.
When the MKK classification scheme was first described in 1943, the only subtypes of class O used were O5 to O9.5. The MKK scheme was extended to O9.7 in 1971
and O4 in 1978, and new classification schemes that add types O2, O3, and O3.5 have subsequently been introduced.
Spectral standards:
* O7V –
S Monocerotis
S Monocerotis, also known as 15 Monocerotis, is a massive multiple and variable star system located in the constellation Monoceros. It is the brightest star in the Christmas Tree open cluster in the area catalogued as NGC 2264.
S ...
* O9V –
10 Lacertae
Class B
![A Snapshot of the Jewel Box cluster with the ESO VLT](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/A_Snapshot_of_the_Jewel_Box_cluster_with_the_ESO_VLT.jpg)
B-type stars are very luminous and blue. Their spectra have neutral helium lines, which are most prominent at the B2 subclass, and moderate hydrogen lines. As
O- and B-type stars are so energetic, they only live for a relatively short time. Thus, due to the low probability of kinematic interaction during their lifetime, they are unable to stray far from the area in which they formed, apart from
runaway star
In astronomy, stellar kinematics is the observational study or measurement of the kinematics or motions of stars through space.
Stellar kinematics encompasses the measurement of stellar velocities in the Milky Way and its satellites as well as t ...
s.
The transition from class O to class B was originally defined to be the point at which the
He II λ4541 disappears. However, with modern equipment, the line is still apparent in the early B-type stars. Today for main-sequence stars, the B class is instead defined by the intensity of the He I violet spectrum, with the maximum intensity corresponding to class B2. For supergiants, lines of
silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic tab ...
are used instead; the Si IV λ4089 and Si III λ4552 lines are indicative of early B. At mid-B, the intensity of the latter relative to that of Si II λλ4128-30 is the defining characteristic, while for late B, it is the intensity of Mg II λ4481 relative to that of He I λ4471.
These stars tend to be found in their originating
OB association
In astronomy, stellar kinematics is the observational study or measurement of the kinematics or motions of stars through space.
Stellar kinematics encompasses the measurement of stellar velocities in the Milky Way and its satellites as well as t ...
s, which are associated with giant
molecular cloud
A molecular cloud, sometimes called a stellar nursery (if star formation is occurring within), is a type of interstellar cloud, the density and size of which permit absorption nebulae, the formation of molecules (most commonly molecular hydrogen ...
s. The Orion OB1 association occupies a large portion of a
spiral arm
Spiral galaxies form a class of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work ''The Realm of the Nebulae''[Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...]
and contains many of the brighter stars of the
constellation Orion
Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It is named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. I ...
. About 1 in 800 (0.125%) of the main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood are
B-type main-sequence star
A B-type main-sequence star (B V) is a main-sequence (hydrogen-burning) star of spectral type B and luminosity class V. These stars have from 2 to 16 times the mass of the Sun and surface temperatures between 10,000 and 30,000 K. B-type stars ...
s.
B-type stars are relatively uncommon and the closest is Regulus, at around 80 light years.
Massive yet non-
supergiant
Supergiants are among the most massive and most luminous stars. Supergiant stars occupy the top region of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram with absolute visual magnitudes between about −3 and −8. The temperature range of supergiant stars spa ...
stars known as
Be stars have been observed to show one or more
Balmer lines
The Balmer series, or Balmer lines in atomic physics, is one of a set of six named series describing the spectral line emissions of the hydrogen atom. The Balmer series is calculated using the Balmer formula, an empirical equation discovered b ...
in emission, with the
hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...
-related
electromagnetic radiation
In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) consists of waves of the electromagnetic field, electromagnetic (EM) field, which propagate through space and carry momentum and electromagnetic radiant energy. It includes radio waves, microwaves, inf ...
series
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used in ...
projected out by the stars being of particular interest. Be stars are generally thought to feature unusually strong
stellar wind
A stellar wind is a flow of gas ejected from the upper atmosphere of a star. It is distinguished from the bipolar outflows characteristic of young stars by being less collimated, although stellar winds are not generally spherically symmetric.
D ...
s, high surface temperatures, and significant attrition of
stellar mass
Stellar mass is a phrase that is used by astronomers to describe the mass of a star. It is usually enumerated in terms of the Sun's mass as a proportion of a solar mass (). Hence, the bright star Sirius has around . A star's mass will vary over its ...
as the objects
rotate
Rotation, or spin, is the circular movement of an object around a '' central axis''. A two-dimensional rotating object has only one possible central axis and can rotate in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. A three-dimensional ...
at a curiously rapid rate.
Objects known as
B stars">stars - or B(e) stars for typographic reasons - possess distinctive neutral or low ionisation
emission lines
A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from emission or absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to iden ...
that are considered to have
forbidden mechanism
In spectroscopy, a forbidden mechanism (forbidden transition or forbidden line) is a spectral line associated with absorption or emission of photons by atomic nuclei, atoms, or molecules which undergo a transition that is not allowed by a particul ...
s, undergoing processes not normally allowed under current understandings of
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...
.
Spectral standards:
* B0V –
Upsilon Orionis
Upsilon Orionis (υ Ori, υ Orionis) is a star in the constellation Orion. It has the traditional name ''Thabit'' or '' Tabit'' (ﺛﺎﺑﺖ, Arabic for "the endurer"), a name shared with pi3 Orionis. It is a blue-white main sequen ...
* B0Ia –
Alnilam
Alnilam is the central star of Orion's Belt in the equatorial constellation of Orion. It has the Bayer designation ε Orionis, which is Latinised to Epsilon Orionis and abbreviated Epsilon Ori or ε Ori. This is a massive, blue supe ...
* B2Ia –
Chi2 Orionis
* B2Ib –
9 Cephei
* B3V –
Eta Ursae Majoris
Eta Ursae Majoris ( Latinised from η Ursae Majoris, abbreviated Eta UMa, η UMa), formally named Alkaid , is a star in the constellation of Ursa Major. It is the most eastern (leftmost) star in the Big Dipper (or Plough) a ...
* B3V –
Eta Aurigae
* B3Ia –
Omicron2 Canis Majoris
* B5Ia –
Eta Canis Majoris
Eta Canis Majoris (η Canis Majoris, abbreviated Eta CMa, η CMa), also named Aludra , is a star in the constellation of Canis Major. Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as one of the stable anchor points by which other stars ...
* B8Ia –
Rigel
Rigel is a blue supergiant star in the constellation of Orion. It has the Bayer designation β Orionis, which is Latinized to Beta Orionis and abbreviated Beta Ori or β Ori. Rigel is the brightest and most massive componentand ...
Class A
A-type stars are among the more common naked eye stars, and are white or bluish-white. They have strong hydrogen lines, at a maximum by A0, and also lines of ionized metals (
Fe II,
Mg II,
Si II) at a maximum at A5. The presence of
Ca II lines is notably strengthening by this point. About 1 in 160 (0.625%) of the main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood are A-type stars,
which includes 9 stars within 15 parsecs.
Spectral standards:
* A0Van –
Gamma Ursae Majoris
Gamma Ursae Majoris (γ Ursae Majoris, abbreviated Gamma UMa, γ UMa), formally named Phecda , is a star in the constellation of Ursa Major. Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as one of the stable anchor poi ...
* A0Va –
Vega
Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, an ...
* A0Ib –
Eta Leonis
Eta Leonis (η Leo, η Leonis) is a fourth-magnitude star in the constellation Leo, about away.
Properties
Eta Leonis is a white supergiant with the stellar classification A0Ib. Since 1943, the spectrum of this star has served as o ...
* A0Ia –
HD 21389
HD 21389 is a supergiant variable star in reflection nebula VdB 15, in the constellation Camelopardalis. It has the variable star designation CE Camelopardalis, abbreviated CE Cam. This object is part of the Camelopardalis OB1 as ...
* A1V –
Sirius A
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CMa ...
* A2Ia –
Deneb
Deneb () is a first-magnitude star in the constellation of Cygnus, the swan. Deneb is one of the vertices of the asterism known as the Summer Triangle and the "head" of the Northern Cross. It is the brightest star in Cygnus and the ...
* A3Va –
Fomalhaut
Fomalhaut is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Piscis Austrinus, the "Southern Fish", and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Piscis Austrini, which is Latinized from ...
![Canopus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Canopus.jpg)
Class F
F-type stars have strengthening spectral lines ''H'' and ''K'' of
Ca II. Neutral metals (
Fe I,
Cr I) beginning to gain on ionized metal lines by late F. Their spectra are characterized by the weaker hydrogen lines and ionized metals. Their color is white. About 1 in 33 (3.03%) of the main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood are F-type stars,
including 12 stars within 10 pc.
Spectral standards:
* F0IIIa –
Zeta Leonis
Zeta Leonis (ζ Leonis, abbreviated Zeta Leo, ζ Leo), also named Adhafera , is a third-magnitude star in the constellation of Leo (constellation), Leo, the lion. It forms the second star (after Gamma Leonis) in the blade of the sickle, ...
* F0Ib –
Alpha Leporis
Alpha Leporis (α Leporis, abbreviated Alpha Lep, α Lep), formally named Arneb , is the brightest star in the constellation of Lepus.
Nomenclature
''Alpha Leporis'' is the star's Bayer designation. The traditional name ''Arneb'' c ...
* F2V –
78 Ursae Majoris
78 Ursae Majoris is a binary star system in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint point of light with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 4.93. Parallax estimates by Hipparcos ...
Class G
![The Sun in white light](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/The_Sun_in_white_light.jpg)
G-type stars, including the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
,
have prominent spectral lines ''H'' and ''K'' of
Ca II, which are most pronounced at G2. They have even weaker hydrogen lines than F, but along with the ionized metals, they have neutral metals. There is a prominent spike in the G band of
CN molecules. Class G main-sequence stars make up about 7.5%, nearly one in thirteen, of the main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood. There are 21 G-type stars within 10pc.
Class G contains the "Yellow Evolutionary Void". Supergiant stars often swing between O or B (blue) and K or M (red). While they do this, they do not stay for long in the unstable
yellow supergiant
A yellow supergiant (YSG) is a star, generally of spectral type F or G, having a supergiant luminosity class (e.g. Ia or Ib). They are stars that have evolved away from the main sequence, expanding and becoming more luminous.
Yellow supergiants ...
class.
Spectral standards:
* G0V –
Beta Canum Venaticorum
Beta Canum Venaticorum (β Canum Venaticorum, abbreviated Beta CVn, β CVn), also named Chara , is a G-type main-sequence star in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici. At an apparent visual magnitude of 4.25, it is the second-brigh ...
* G0IV –
Eta Boötis
Eta Boötis (η Boötis, abbreviated Eta Boo, η Boo) is a binary star in the constellation of Boötes. Based on parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparcos mission, it is approximately 37 light-years (11 parsecs) distant from the ...
* G0Ib –
Beta Aquarii
Beta Aquarii is a single star in the constellation of Aquarius. It has the official name Sadalsuud (), and sometimes is identified as β Aquarii, abbreviated Beta Aqr or β Aqr. Based upon parallax measurements obtained during the Hipparc ...
* G2V –
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
* G5V –
Kappa1 Ceti
Kappa1 Ceti, Latinized from κ1 Ceti, is a variable yellow dwarf star approximately 30 light-years away in the equatorial constellation of Cetus.
The star was discovered to have a rapid rotation, roughly once every nine days. Thou ...
* G5IV –
Mu Herculis
Mu Herculis (μ Herculis) is a nearby quadruple star system about 27.1 light years from Earth in the constellation Hercules (constellation), Hercules. Its main star, Mu Herculis A is fairly similar to the Sun although more hig ...
* G5Ib –
9 Pegasi
9 Pegasi (9 Peg) is a supergiant star in the constellation Pegasus (constellation), Pegasus. Its apparent magnitude is 4.35.
9 Pegasi is defined and used as an MK standard star for the spectral type G5 Ib. It is a yellow supergiant nearl ...
* G8V –
61 Ursae Majoris
61 Ursae Majoris, abbreviated 61 UMa, is a single star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. It has a yellow-orange hue and is dimly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 5.35. The distance ...
* G8IV –
Beta Aquilae
Beta Aquilae, Latinized from β Aquilae, is a triple star system in the equatorial constellation of Aquila. It is visible to the naked eye as a point-like source with an apparent visual magnitude of 3.87. Based on parallax measuremen ...
* G8IIIa –
Kappa Geminorum
* G8IIIab –
Epsilon Virginis
Epsilon Virginis (ε Virginis, abbreviated Epsilon Vir, ε Vir), formally named Vindemiatrix , is a star in the zodiac constellation of Virgo. The apparent visual magnitude of this star is +2.8, making it the third-brightest member of Vi ...
* G8Ib –
Epsilon Geminorum
Epsilon Geminorum or ε Geminorum, formally named Mebsuta , is a star in the constellation of Gemini, on the outstretched right 'leg' of the twin Castor. The apparent visual magnitude of +3.06 makes it one of the brighter stars in this ...
Class K
![redgiants](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Redgiants.svg)
K-type stars are orangish stars that are slightly cooler than the Sun. They make up about 12% of the main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood.
There are also giant K-type stars, which range from
hypergiant
A hypergiant (luminosity class 0 or Ia+) is a very rare type of star that has an extremely high luminosity, mass, size and mass loss because of its extreme stellar winds. The term ''hypergiant'' is defined as luminosity class 0 (zero) in the MK ...
s like
RW Cephei
RW Cephei is a hypergiant variable star in the constellation Cepheus (constellation), Cepheus, at the edge of the Sharpless 132 HII region and close to the small open cluster Berkeley 94. One of the List of largest known stars, largest ...
, to
giants
A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore.
Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to:
Mythology and religion
*Giants (Greek mythology)
*Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...
and
supergiant
Supergiants are among the most massive and most luminous stars. Supergiant stars occupy the top region of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram with absolute visual magnitudes between about −3 and −8. The temperature range of supergiant stars spa ...
s, such as
Arcturus
, - bgcolor="#FFFAFA"
, Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary.
Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of th ...
, whereas
orange dwarfs, like
Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri ( Latinized from α Centauri and often abbreviated Alpha Cen or α Cen) is a triple star system in the constellation of Centaurus. It consists of 3 stars: Alpha Centauri A (officially Rigil Kentaurus), Alpha Centaur ...
B, are main-sequence stars.
They have extremely weak hydrogen lines, if those are present at all, and mostly neutral metals (
Mn I,
Fe I,
Si I). By late K, molecular bands of
titanium oxide
Titanium oxide may refer to:
* Titanium dioxide (titanium(IV) oxide), TiO2
* Titanium(II) oxide (titanium monoxide), TiO, a non-stoichiometric oxide
* Titanium(III) oxide (dititanium trioxide), Ti2O3
* Ti3O
* Ti2O
* δ-TiOx (x= 0.68–0.75)
* Tin ...
become present. Mainstream theories (those rooted in lower harmful radioactivity and star longevity) would thus suggest such stars have the optimal chances of heavily evolved life developing on orbiting planets (if such life is directly analogous to earth's) due to a broad habitable zone yet much lower harmful periods of emission compared to those with the broadest such zones.
Spectral standards:
* K0V –
Sigma Draconis
Sigma Draconis is a single star in the northern constellation of Draco. It has the proper name Alsafi , while Sigma Draconis, which is latinised from σ Draconis and abbreviated Sig Dra or σ Dra, is the Bayer designation. It has an ap ...
* K0III –
Pollux
* K0III –
Epsilon Cygni
Epsilon Cygni (ε Cygni, abbreviated Epsilon Cyg, ε Cyg) is multiple star system in the constellation of Cygnus. With an apparent visual magnitude of 2.48, it is readily visible to the naked eye at night as one of the brighter membe ...
* K2V –
Epsilon Eridani
Epsilon Eridani ( Latinized from ε Eridani), formally named Ran, is a star in the southern constellation of Eridanus, at a declination of 9.46° south of the celestial equator. This allows it to be visible from most of Earth's surf ...
* K2III –
Kappa Ophiuchi
Kappa Ophiuchi, Romanization of Greek, Latinized from κ Ophiuchi, is a star in the Celestial equator, equatorial constellation Ophiuchus (constellation), Ophiuchus. It is a suspected variable star with an average apparent visual magnitud ...
* K3III –
Rho Boötis
Rho Boötis, Latinisation of names, Latinised from ρ Boötis, is a single, orange-hued star in the Northern celestial hemisphere, northern constellation of Boötes. It is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 3.59. Ba ...
* K5V –
61 Cygni A
* K5III –
Gamma Draconis
Gamma Draconis (γ Draconis, abbreviated Gamma Dra, γ Dra), formally named Eltanin , is a star in the northern constellation of Draco. Contrary to its gamma-designation (historically third-ranked), it is the brightest star in Draco at m ...
Class M
Class M stars are by far the most common. About 76% of the main-sequence stars in the solar neighborhood are class M stars.
[This rises to 78.6% if we include all stars. (See the above note.)] However, class M main-sequence stars (
red dwarf
''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...
s) have such low luminosities that none are bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye, unless under exceptional conditions. The brightest-known M class main-sequence star is
Lacaille 8760
Lacaille 8760 (AX Microscopii) is a red dwarf star in the constellation Microscopium. It is one of the nearest stars to the Sun at about 12.9 light-years' distance, and the brightest M dwarf star in Earth's night sky, although it is ge ...
, class M0V, with
magnitude
Magnitude may refer to:
Mathematics
*Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction
*Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object
*Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector
*Order of ...
6.7 (the limiting magnitude for typical naked-eye visibility under good conditions is typically quoted as 6.5), and it is extremely unlikely that any brighter examples will be found.
Although most class M stars are red dwarfs, most of the largest-known supergiant stars in the Milky Way are class M stars, such as
VV Cephei
VV Cephei, also known as HD 208816, is an eclipsing binary star system located in the constellation Cepheus, approximately 5,000 light years from Earth. It is both a B star and shell star.
VV Cephei is an eclipsing binary with the ...
,
Antares
Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. It has the Bayer designation α Scorpii, which is Latinised to Alpha Scorpii. Often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion", Antares is flanked by σ Scorpii and τ S ...
, and
Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant of spectral type M1-2 and one of the largest stars visible to the naked eye. It is usually the tenth-brightest star in the night sky and, after Rigel, the second-brightest in the constellation of Orion ...
. Furthermore, some larger, hotter
brown dwarf
Brown dwarfs (also called failed stars) are substellar objects that are not massive enough to sustain nuclear fusion of ordinary hydrogen ( 1H) into helium in their cores, unlike a main-sequence star. Instead, they have a mass between the most ...
s are late class M, usually in the range of M6.5 to M9.5.
The spectrum of a class M star contains lines from
oxide
An oxide () is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– (molecular) ion. with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the E ...
molecule
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...
s (in the
visible spectrum
The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visual perception, visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called ''visible light'' or simply light. A typical human eye wil ...
, especially
TiO) and all neutral metals, but absorption lines of hydrogen are usually absent. TiO bands can be strong in class M stars, usually dominating their visible spectrum by about M5.
Vanadium(II) oxide
Vanadium(II) oxide is the inorganic compound with the idealized formula VO. It is one of the several binary vanadium oxides. It adopts a distorted NaCl structure and contains weak V−V metal to metal bonds. VO is a semiconductor owing to delo ...
bands become present by late M.
Spectral standards:
* M0IIIa –
Beta Andromedae
Beta Andromedae, Latinized from β Andromedae, and officially named Mirach , is a prominent star in the northern constellation of Andromeda. It is northeast of the Great Square of Pegasus and is potentially visible to all observers no ...
* M2III –
Chi Pegasi
Chi Pegasi, Latinised from χ Pegasi, is a single star in the northern constellation of Pegasus, along the eastern constellation border with Pisces. It has a reddish hue and is faintly visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual mag ...
* M1-M2Ia-Iab –
Betelgeuse
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant of spectral type M1-2 and one of the largest stars visible to the naked eye. It is usually the tenth-brightest star in the night sky and, after Rigel, the second-brightest in the constellation of Orion ...
* M2Ia –
Mu Cephei
Mu Cephei ( Latinized from μ Cephei, abbreviated Mu Cep or μ Cep), also known as Herschel's Garnet Star, Erakis, or HD 206936, is a red supergiant or hypergiant star in the constellation Cepheus. It appears garnet red and is located at ...
("
Herschel's garnet")
Extended spectral types
A number of new spectral types have been taken into use from newly discovered types of stars.
[
]
Hot blue emission star classes
Spectra of some very hot and bluish stars exhibit marked emission lines from carbon or nitrogen, or sometimes oxygen.
Class W: Wolf–Rayet
Once included as type O stars, the Wolf–Rayet star
Wolf–Rayet stars, often abbreviated as WR stars, are a rare heterogeneous set of stars with unusual spectra showing prominent broad emission lines of ionised helium and highly ionised nitrogen or carbon. The spectra indicate very high surface ...
s of class W or WR are notable for spectra lacking hydrogen lines. Instead their spectra are dominated by broad emission lines of highly ionized helium, nitrogen, carbon, and sometimes oxygen. They are thought to mostly be dying supergiants with their hydrogen layers blown away by stellar wind
A stellar wind is a flow of gas ejected from the upper atmosphere of a star. It is distinguished from the bipolar outflows characteristic of young stars by being less collimated, although stellar winds are not generally spherically symmetric.
D ...
s, thereby directly exposing their hot helium shells. Class W is further divided into subclasses according to the relative strength of nitrogen and carbon emission lines in their spectra (and outer layers).
WR spectra range is listed below:
* WN[ – spectrum dominated by N III-V and He I-II lines
** WNE (WN2 to WN5 with some WN6) – hotter or "early"
** WNL (WN7 to WN9 with some WN6) – cooler or "late"
** Extended WN classes WN10 and WN11 sometimes used for the Ofpe/WN9 stars][
** h tag used (e.g. WN9h) for WR with hydrogen emission and ha (e.g. WN6ha) for both hydrogen emission and absorption
* WN/C – WN stars plus strong C IV lines, intermediate between WN and WC stars][
* WC][ – spectrum with strong C II-IV lines
** WCE (WC4 to WC6) – hotter or "early"
** WCL (WC7 to WC9) – cooler or "late"
* WO (WO1 to WO4) – strong O VI lines, extremely rare, extension of the WCE class into incredibly hot temperatures (up to 200 kK or more)
Although the central stars of most planetary nebulae (CSPNe) show O-type spectra,] around 10% are hydrogen-deficient and show WR spectra. These are low-mass stars and to distinguish them from the massive Wolf–Rayet stars, their spectra are enclosed in square brackets: e.g. C Most of these show Cspectra, some O and very rarely N
Slash stars
The ''slash'' stars are O-type stars with WN-like lines in their spectra. The name "slash" comes from their printed spectral type having a slash in it (e.g. "Of/WNL").
There is a secondary group found with these spectra, a cooler, "intermediate" group designated "Ofpe/WN9". These stars have also been referred to as WN10 or WN11, but that has become less popular with the realisation of the evolutionary difference from other Wolf–Rayet stars. Recent discoveries of even rarer stars have extended the range of slash stars as far as O2-3.5If*/WN5-7, which are even hotter than the original "slash" stars.
Magnetic O stars
They are O stars with strong magnetic fields. Designation is Of?p.
Cool red and brown dwarf classes
The new spectral types L, T, and Y were created to classify infrared spectra of cool stars. This includes both red dwarf
''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...
s and brown dwarf
Brown dwarfs (also called failed stars) are substellar objects that are not massive enough to sustain nuclear fusion of ordinary hydrogen ( 1H) into helium in their cores, unlike a main-sequence star. Instead, they have a mass between the most ...
s that are very faint in the visible spectrum
The visible spectrum is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visual perception, visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called ''visible light'' or simply light. A typical human eye wil ...
.
Brown dwarf
Brown dwarfs (also called failed stars) are substellar objects that are not massive enough to sustain nuclear fusion of ordinary hydrogen ( 1H) into helium in their cores, unlike a main-sequence star. Instead, they have a mass between the most ...
s, stars that do not undergo hydrogen fusion
Stellar nucleosynthesis is the creation (nucleosynthesis) of chemical elements by nuclear fusion reactions within stars. Stellar nucleosynthesis has occurred since the original creation of hydrogen, helium and lithium during the Big Bang. As a ...
, cool as they age and so progress to later spectral types. Brown dwarfs start their lives with M-type spectra and will cool through the L, T, and Y spectral classes, faster the less massive they are; the highest-mass brown dwarfs cannot have cooled to Y or even T dwarfs within the age of the universe. Because this leads to an unresolvable overlap between spectral types effective temperature
The effective temperature of a body such as a star or planet is the temperature of a black body that would emit the same total amount of electromagnetic radiation. Effective temperature is often used as an estimate of a body's surface temperature ...
and luminosity
Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic power (light), the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object over time. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electromagnetic energy emitted per unit of time by a st ...
for some masses and ages of different L-T-Y types, no distinct temperature
Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer.
Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...
or luminosity
Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic power (light), the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object over time. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electromagnetic energy emitted per unit of time by a st ...
values can be given.
Class L
Class L dwarfs get their designation because they are cooler than M stars and L is the remaining letter alphabetically closest to M. Some of these objects have masses large enough to support hydrogen fusion and are therefore stars, but most are of substellar
A substellar object, sometimes called a substar, is an astronomical object the mass of which is smaller than the smallest mass at which hydrogen fusion can be sustained (approximately 0.08 solar masses). This definition includes brown dwarfs and ...
mass and are therefore brown dwarfs. They are a very dark red in color and brightest in infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
. Their atmosphere
An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...
is cool enough to allow metal hydride
In chemistry, a hydride is formally the anion of hydrogen( H−). The term is applied loosely. At one extreme, all compounds containing covalently bound H atoms are called hydrides: water (H2O) is a hydride of oxygen, ammonia is a hydride of ...
s and alkali metal
The alkali metals consist of the chemical elements lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K),The symbols Na and K for sodium and potassium are derived from their Latin names, ''natrium'' and ''kalium''; these are still the origins of the names ...
s to be prominent in their spectra.[
][
]
Due to low surface gravity in giant stars, TiO- and VO-bearing condensates never form. Thus, L-type stars larger than dwarfs can never form in an isolated environment. However, it may be possible for these L-type supergiants to form through stellar collisions, an example of which is V838 Monocerotis
V838 Monocerotis (Nova Monocerotis 2002) is a spectroscopic binary star system in the constellation Monoceros (constellation), Monoceros about 19,000 light years (6 parsec, kpc) from the Sun. The previously unremarked star was observed i ...
while in the height of its luminous red nova
A luminous red nova (abbr. ''LRN'', pl. ''luminous red novae'', pl.abbr. ''LRNe'') is a stellar explosion thought to be caused by the merging of two stars. They are characterised by a distinct red colour, and a light curve that fades slowly with ...
eruption.
Class T: methane dwarfs
Class T dwarfs are cool brown dwarf
Brown dwarfs (also called failed stars) are substellar objects that are not massive enough to sustain nuclear fusion of ordinary hydrogen ( 1H) into helium in their cores, unlike a main-sequence star. Instead, they have a mass between the most ...
s with surface temperatures between approximately . Their emission peaks in the infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
. Methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...
is prominent in their spectra.
Study of the number of proplyds (protoplanetary disks, clumps of gas in nebula
A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...
e from which stars and planetary systems are formed) indicates that the number of stars in the galaxy
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...
should be several orders of magnitude
An order of magnitude is an approximation of the logarithm of a value relative to some contextually understood reference value, usually 10, interpreted as the base of the logarithm and the representative of values of magnitude one. Logarithmic dis ...
higher than what was previously conjectured. It is theorized that these proplyds are in a race with each other. The first one to form will become a protostar
A protostar is a very young star that is still gathering mass from its parent molecular cloud. The protostellar phase is the earliest one in the process of stellar evolution. For a low-mass star (i.e. that of the Sun or lower), it lasts about 5 ...
, which are very violent objects and will disrupt other proplyds in the vicinity, stripping them of their gas. The victim proplyds will then probably go on to become main-sequence stars or brown dwarfs of the L and T classes, which are quite invisible to us.
Class Y
Brown dwarfs of spectral class Y are cooler than those of spectral class T and have qualitatively different spectra from them. A total of 17 objects have been placed in class Y as of August 2013. Although such dwarfs have been modelled and detected within forty light-years by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE, observatory code C51, Explorer 92 and SMEX-6) is a NASA infrared astronomy space telescope in the Explorers Program. It was launched in December 2009, and placed in hibernation mode in February 2011, ...
(WISE) there is no well-defined spectral sequence yet and no prototypes. Nevertheless, several objects have been proposed as spectral classes Y0, Y1, and Y2.
The spectra of these prospective Y objects display absorption around 1.55 micrometers
The micrometre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American and British English spelling differences# ...
. Delorme et al. have suggested that this feature is due to absorption from ammonia
Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous was ...
, and that this should be taken as the indicative feature for the T-Y transition. In fact, this ammonia-absorption feature is the main criterion that has been adopted to define this class.[ However, this feature is difficult to distinguish from absorption by ]water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
and methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Eart ...
,[ and other authors have stated that the assignment of class Y0 is premature.
The latest brown dwarf proposed for the Y spectral type, WISE 1828+2650, is a > Y2 dwarf with an effective temperature originally estimated around 300 K, the temperature of the human body.]European Southern Observatory
The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 mem ...
"A Very Cool Pair of Brown Dwarfs"
23 March 2011 Parallax
Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...
measurements have, however, since shown that its luminosity is inconsistent with it being colder than ~400 K. The coolest Y dwarf currently known is WISE 0855−0714
WISE 0855−0714 (full designation WISE J085510.83−071442.5, or W0855 for short) is a sub-brown dwarf () from Earth, therefore the fourth- closest star or (sub-) brown dwarf system to the Sun, the discovery of which was announced i ...
with an approximate temperature of 250 K, and a mass just seven times that of Jupiter.
The mass range for Y dwarfs is 9–25 Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
masses, but young objects might reach below one Jupiter mass (although they cool to become planets), which means that Y class objects straddle the 13 Jupiter mass deuterium
Deuterium (or hydrogen-2, symbol or deuterium, also known as heavy hydrogen) is one of two Stable isotope ratio, stable isotopes of hydrogen (the other being Hydrogen atom, protium, or hydrogen-1). The atomic nucleus, nucleus of a deuterium ato ...
-fusion limit that marks the current IAU
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach ...
division between brown dwarfs and planets.[
]
Peculiar brown dwarfs
Young brown dwarfs have low surface gravities because they have larger radii and lower masses compared to the field stars of similar spectral type. These sources are marked by a letter beta () for intermediate surface gravity and gamma () for low surface gravity. Indication for low surface gravity are weak CaH, K and Na lines, as well as strong VO line. Alpha () stands for normal surface gravity and is usually dropped. Sometimes an extremely low surface gravity is denoted by a delta (). The suffix "pec" stands for peculiar. The peculiar suffix is still used for other features that are unusual and summarizes different properties, indicative of low surface gravity, subdwarfs and unresolved binaries.
The prefix sd stands for subdwarf
A subdwarf, sometimes denoted by "sd", is a star with luminosity class VI under the Yerkes spectral classification system. They are defined as stars with luminosity 1.5 to 2 magnitudes lower than that of main-sequence stars of the same spectral ...
and only includes cool subdwarfs. This prefix indicates a low metallicity
In astronomy, metallicity is the abundance of elements present in an object that are heavier than hydrogen and helium. Most of the normal physical matter in the Universe is either hydrogen or helium, and astronomers use the word ''"metals"'' as a ...
and kinematic properties that are more similar to halo
Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to:
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Video games
* ''Halo'' (franch ...
stars than to disk
Disk or disc may refer to:
* Disk (mathematics), a geometric shape
* Disk storage
Music
* Disc (band), an American experimental music band
* ''Disk'' (album), a 1995 EP by Moby
Other uses
* Disk (functional analysis), a subset of a vector sp ...
stars. Subdwarfs appear bluer than disk objects.
The red suffix describes objects with red color, but an older age. This is not interpreted as low surface gravity, but as a high dust content. The blue suffix describes objects with blue near-infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of Light, visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from ...
colors that cannot be explained with low metallicity. Some are explained as L+T binaries, others are not binaries, such as 2MASS J11263991−5003550 and are explained with thin and/or large-grained clouds.
Late giant carbon-star classes
Carbon-stars are stars whose spectra indicate production of carbon – a byproduct of triple-alpha helium fusion. With increased carbon abundance, and some parallel s-process
The slow neutron-capture process, or ''s''-process, is a series of reactions in nuclear astrophysics that occur in stars, particularly asymptotic giant branch stars. The ''s''-process is responsible for the creation (nucleosynthesis) of approximat ...
heavy element production, the spectra of these stars become increasingly deviant from the usual late spectral classes G, K, and M. Equivalent classes for carbon-rich stars are S and C.
The giants among those stars are presumed to produce this carbon themselves, but some stars in this class are double stars, whose odd atmosphere is suspected of having been transferred from a companion that is now a white dwarf, when the companion was a carbon-star.
Class C: carbon stars
Originally classified as R and N stars, these are also known as ''carbon stars''. These are red giants, near the end of their lives, in which there is an excess of carbon in the atmosphere. The old R and N classes ran parallel to the normal classification system from roughly mid-G to late M. These have more recently been remapped into a unified carbon classifier C with N0 starting at roughly C6. Another subset of cool carbon stars are the C–J-type stars, which are characterized by the strong presence of molecules of 13 CN in addition to those of 12 CN. A few main-sequence carbon stars are known, but the overwhelming majority of known carbon stars are giants or supergiants. There are several subclasses:
* C-R – Formerly its own class (''R'') representing the carbon star equivalent of late G- to early K-type stars.
* C-N – Formerly its own class representing the carbon star equivalent of late K- to M-type stars.
* C-J – A subtype of cool C stars with a high content of 13C.
* C-H – Population II
During 1944, Walter Baade categorized groups of stars within the Milky Way into stellar populations.
In the abstract of the article by Baade, he recognizes that Jan Oort originally conceived this type of classification in 1926:
Baade noticed th ...
analogues of the C-R stars.
* C-Hd – Hydrogen-deficient carbon stars, similar to late G supergiants with CH and C2 bands added.
Class S
Class S stars form a continuum between class M stars and carbon stars. Those most similar to class M stars have strong ZrO absorption bands
A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from emission or absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to ident ...
analogous to the TiO bands of class M stars, whereas those most similar to carbon stars have strong sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable iso ...
D lines and weak C2 bands. Class S stars have excess amounts of zirconium
Zirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name ''zirconium'' is taken from the name of the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium. The word is related to Persian '' zargun'' (zircon; ''zar-gun'', ...
and other elements produced by the s-process
The slow neutron-capture process, or ''s''-process, is a series of reactions in nuclear astrophysics that occur in stars, particularly asymptotic giant branch stars. The ''s''-process is responsible for the creation (nucleosynthesis) of approximat ...
, and have more similar carbon and oxygen abundances than class M or carbon stars. Like carbon stars, nearly all known class S stars are asymptotic-giant-branch stars.
The spectral type is formed by the letter S and a number between zero and ten. This number corresponds to the temperature of the star and approximately follows the temperature scale used for class M giants. The most common types are S3 to S5. The non-standard designation S10 has only been used for the star Chi Cygni
Chi Cygni (Latinised from χ Cygni) is a Mira variable star in the constellation Cygnus, and also an S-type star. It is around 500 light years away.
χ Cygni is an asymptotic giant branch star, a very cool and luminous red giant nearin ...
when at an extreme minimum.
The basic classification is usually followed by an abundance indication, following one of several schemes: S2,5; S2/5; S2 Zr4 Ti2; or S2*5. A number following a comma is a scale between 1 and 9 based on the ratio of ZrO and TiO. A number following a slash is a more-recent but less-common scheme designed to represent the ratio of carbon to oxygen on a scale of 1 to 10, where a 0 would be an MS star. Intensities of zirconium and titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
may be indicated explicitly. Also occasionally seen is a number following an asterisk, which represents the strength of the ZrO bands on a scale from 1 to 5.
Classes MS and SC: Intermediate carbon-related classes
In between the M and S classes, border cases are named MS stars. In a similar way, border cases between the S and C-N classes are named SC or CS. The sequence M → MS → S → SC → C-N is hypothesized to be a sequence of increased carbon abundance with age for carbon star
A carbon star (C-type star) is typically an asymptotic giant branch star, a luminous red giant, whose atmosphere contains more carbon than oxygen. The two elements combine in the upper layers of the star, forming carbon monoxide, which consumes mos ...
s in the asymptotic giant branch
The asymptotic giant branch (AGB) is a region of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram populated by evolved cool luminous stars. This is a period of stellar evolution undertaken by all low- to intermediate-mass stars (about 0.5 to 8 solar masses) lat ...
.
White dwarf classifications
The class D (for Degenerate
Degeneracy, degenerate, or degeneration may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Degenerate (album), ''Degenerate'' (album), a 2010 album by the British band Trigger the Bloodshed
* Degenerate art, a term adopted in the 1920s by the Nazi Party i ...
) is the modern classification used for white dwarfs—low-mass stars that are no longer undergoing nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles ( neutrons or protons). The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifest ...
and have shrunk to planetary size, slowly cooling down. Class D is further divided into spectral types DA, DB, DC, DO, DQ, DX, and DZ. The letters are not related to the letters used in the classification of other stars, but instead indicate the composition of the white dwarf's visible outer layer or atmosphere.
The white dwarf types are as follows:
* DA – a hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...
-rich atmosphere or outer layer, indicated by strong Balmer hydrogen spectral line
A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from emission or absorption of light in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies. Spectral lines are often used to iden ...
s.
* DB – a helium
Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...
-rich atmosphere, indicated by neutral helium, He I, spectral lines.
* DO – a helium-rich atmosphere, indicated by ionized helium, He II, spectral lines.
* DQ – a carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent
In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...
-rich atmosphere, indicated by atomic or molecular carbon lines.
* DZ – a metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
-rich atmosphere, indicated by metal spectral lines (a merger of the obsolete white dwarf spectral types, DG, DK, and DM).
* DC – no strong spectral lines indicating one of the above categories.
* DX – spectral lines are insufficiently clear to classify into one of the above categories.
The type is followed by a number giving the white dwarf's surface temperature. This number is a rounded form of 50400/''T''eff, where ''T''eff is the effective surface temperature, measured in kelvin
The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and phys ...
s. Originally, this number was rounded to one of the digits 1 through 9, but more recently fractional values have started to be used, as well as values below 1 and above 9.(For example DA1.5 for IK Pegasi B)
Two or more of the type letters may be used to indicate a white dwarf that displays more than one of the spectral features above.
Extended white dwarf spectral types
* DAB – a hydrogen- and helium-rich white dwarf displaying neutral helium lines
* DAO – a hydrogen- and helium-rich white dwarf displaying ionized helium lines
* DAZ – a hydrogen-rich metallic white dwarf
* DBZ – a helium-rich metallic white dwarf
A different set of spectral peculiarity symbols are used for white dwarfs than for other types of stars:
Non-stellar spectral types: Classes P and Q
Finally, the classes P and Q are left over from the system developed by Cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
for the '' Henry Draper Catalogue''. They are occasionally used for certain non-stellar objects: Type P objects are stars within planetary nebula
A planetary nebula (PN, plural PNe) is a type of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from red giant stars late in their lives.
The term "planetary nebula" is a misnomer because they are unrelated to ...
e (typically young white dwarfs or hydrogen-poor M giants); type Q objects are nova
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
e.
Stellar remnants
Stellar remnants are objects associated with the death of stars. Included in the category are white dwarf
A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
s, and as can be seen from the radically different classification scheme for class D, non-stellar objects are difficult to fit into the MK system.
The Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, which the MK system is based on, is observational in nature so these remnants cannot easily be plotted on the diagram, or cannot be placed at all. Old neutron stars are relatively small and cold, and would fall on the far right side of the diagram. Planetary nebula
A planetary nebula (PN, plural PNe) is a type of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from red giant stars late in their lives.
The term "planetary nebula" is a misnomer because they are unrelated to ...
e are dynamic and tend to quickly fade in brightness as the progenitor star transitions to the white dwarf branch. If shown, a planetary nebula would be plotted to the right of the diagram's upper right quadrant. A black hole emits no visible light of its own, and therefore would not appear on the diagram.
A classification system for neutron stars using Roman numerals has been proposed: type I for less massive neutron stars with low cooling rates, type II for more massive neutron stars with higher cooling rates, and a proposed type III for more massive neutron stars (possible exotic star candidates) with higher cooling rates. The more massive a neutron star is, the higher neutrino
A neutrino ( ; denoted by the Greek letter ) is a fermion (an elementary particle with spin of ) that interacts only via the weak interaction and gravity. The neutrino is so named because it is electrically neutral and because its rest mass ...
flux it carries. These neutrinos carry away so much heat energy that after only a few years the temperature of an isolated neutron star falls from the order of billions to only around a million Kelvin. This proposed neutron star classification system is not to be confused with the earlier Secchi spectral classes and the Yerkes luminosity classes.
Replaced spectral classes
Several spectral types, all previously used for non-standard stars in the mid-20th century, have been replaced during revisions of the stellar classification system. They may still be found in old editions of star catalogs: R and N have been subsumed into the new C class as C-R and C-N.
Stellar classification, habitability, and the search for life
While humans may eventually be able to colonize
Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
any kind of stellar habitat, this section will address the probability of life arising around other stars.
Stability, luminosity, and lifespan are all factors in stellar habitability. We only know of one star that hosts life, and that is our own—a G-class star with an abundance of heavy elements and low variability in brightness. It is also unlike many stellar systems in that it only has one star in it (see Habitability of binary star systems
Planets in binary star systems may be candidates for supporting extraterrestrial life. Habitability of binary star systems is determined by many factors from a variety of sources. Typical estimates often suggest that 50% or more of all star syste ...
).
Working from these constraints and the problems of having an empirical sample set of only one, the range of stars that are predicted to be able to support life as we know it is limited by a few factors. Of the main-sequence star types, stars more massive than 1.5 times that of the Sun (spectral types O, B, and A) age too quickly for advanced life to develop (using Earth as a guideline). On the other extreme, dwarfs of less than half the mass of our Sun (spectral type M) are likely to tidally lock planets within their habitable zone, along with other problems (see Habitability of red dwarf systems
The habitability of red dwarf systems is presumed to be determined by a large number of factors from a variety of sources. Modern evidence indicates that planets in red dwarf systems are unlikely to be habitable, due to their low stellar flux, ...
). While there are many problems facing life on red dwarfs, many astronomers continue to model these systems due to their sheer numbers and longevity.
For these reasons NASA's Kepler Mission
The Kepler space telescope is a disused space telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orb ...
is searching for habitable planets at nearby main-sequence stars that are less massive than spectral type A but more massive than type M—making the most probable stars to host life dwarf stars of types F, G, and K.
See also
*
*
*
* , survey of stars
*
Explanatory notes
References
External links
Libraries of stellar spectra
by D. Montes, UCM
Spectral Types for Hipparcos Catalogue Entries
by Richard O. Gray and Christopher J. Corbally
Spectral models of stars
by P. Coelho
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stellar Classification
Classification Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood.
Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes.
It may also refer to:
Business, organizat ...
Concepts in astronomy