Main sequence: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:48, 19 November 2023

Revision as of 13:51, 19 November 2023

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{{short description|Continuous band of stars that appears on plots of stellar color versus brightness}}

{{For|the racehorse|Main Sequence (horse)}}

[[File:HRDiagram.png|thumb|upright=1.4|A [[Hertzsprung–Russell diagram]] plots the [[luminosity]] (or [[absolute magnitude]]) of a star against its [[color index]] (represented as B−V). The main sequence is visible as a prominent diagonal band that runs from the upper left to the lower right. This plot shows 22,000 stars from the [[Hipparcos Catalog]] together with 1,000 low-luminosity stars (red and white dwarfs) from the [[Gliese Catalogue of Nearby Stars]].]]

In [[astronomy]], the '''main sequence''' is a classification of [[star]]s which appear on plots of stellar [[color index|color]] versus [[absolute magnitude|brightness]] as a continuous and distinctive band. Stars on this band are known as '''main-sequence stars''' or [[dwarf star]]s, and positions of stars on and off the band are believed to indicate their physical properties, as well as their progress through several types of star life-cycles. These are the most numerous true stars in the universe and include the [[Sun]]. Color-magnitude plots are known as [[Hertzsprung–Russell diagram]]s after [[Ejnar Hertzsprung]] and [[Henry Norris Russell]].