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Stellar Classification
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Examples of Stellar Classification
What are star spectral lines?
What does the Classification chart actually look like?
Passing light from a star through a prism produces a spectrum which can be used to identify what elements are present in that star at the time.
Processes such as Nuclear Fusion cause different elements to be formed in the planets core and these elements can be identified.
A photo of a Red Dwarf or M star
A photo of what an O star would look like
Video of a Physics student using a prism to identify different elements
As we can see, the stars are classed by the letters OBAFGKN
This order of letters can be remembered using the mnemonic
Oh Be A Fine Girl (or Guy), Kiss Me!
A photo of the Sun (a G star)
Conclusion
What is Stellar Classification?
It is a method that astronomers have used to classify stars depending on the properties that it holds.
The idea of Stellar Classification came about because of Annie Jump Cannon
Stellar classification is a method of classifying different sizes of stars and was discovered by an assistant in a Harvard observatory, Annie Jump Cannon. The classification system was easy to use and still in use today.
Annie Jump Cannon was originally an assistant to Edward C. Pickering at Harvard University. After discovering a new method to classify stars in the late 1800's, Cannon became a renowned astronomer winning awards for her discovery and even having a lunar crater named after her. As well as this, we still use her method of classification in astronomy today!
What characteristics are used in Stellar Classification?
- Effective Temperature of the star (K)
- The colour of the star
- It's mass compared to the mass of the Sun
- It's radius compared to the Sun's
- It's lumosity compared to the Sun's
- The average lifetime of the star