In 1905, independent Danish astronomer Ejnar Hertzsprung and American astronomer Henry Norris Russell gathered data of a star’s spectral type and there temperature. They plotted these data on graphs and discovered that many patterns emerged linking the mass of a star to its lifespan. From the noted trends and correlations they formed what is now known as the Hertzsprung Russell Diagram or commonly referred to as the HR Diagram.
The HR Diagram is used as an important tool in the study of astrophysics. Specifically it is a graphical tool that Hertzsprung and Russell formed for astronomers to use to measure the different characteristics of a star, i.e. luminosity, spectral type, colour, temperature, and evolutionary stage.
The astronomical …show more content…
He classified these group of stars as the main sequence, this is of which the Earth’s sun is a member of.
The two astral scientists later discovered the existence of other stars of which were categorized as white dwarfs (lower left), red dwarfs (lower right), super giants (upper left), and red super giants (upper right).
When Russell plotted these on the diagram, each star was represented as a dot, and the position of each dot on the diagram corresponds to the luminosity and temperature of the star.
The vertical position represents a star’s luminosity and the horizontal position represents the star’s temperature.
Scientists then concluded that based on its initial mass, each star faces an evolutionary process determined by its internal structure and how it produces energy. These individual changes were found to relate to the star’s luminosity and temperature which can be graphically seen to move to different areas on the HR Diagram as it evolves. Based on this astronomer’s realised and used the HR Diagram as means to determine a star’s evolutionary stage and internal …show more content…
They also realized that over time this powered energy would run out and the fusion would burn out and therefore leading to the death of the stars.
The basis of this realization originated from the formation of stars. This is where all stars a formed in clouds of dust and gas called a nebulae.
Nebulae originates from these clouds of dusts and gas due to gravitational forces within particular regions of the nebula itself contracting into solid clusters and as the mass of clumps (clusters) collapse inwards, the temperature arises in the star and reaches up to 10 million Degrees Celsius at which is the point where nuclear fusion starts.
Worldwide scientists later discovered that at the beginning of a stars life, hydrogen is constantly being burned within the clouded dusts bringing the nebula together and as time passes, it would eventually be converted into helium gas thus releasing energy that heats the star and the resulting outward pressure balanced the inward pull of gravity.
The speed at which the collapse happen, the life span of a star, and its death are determined by the star’s mass.
The HR Diagram is used as an important tool in the study of astrophysics. Specifically it is a graphical tool that Hertzsprung and Russell formed for astronomers to use to measure the different characteristics of a star, i.e. luminosity, spectral type, colour, temperature, and evolutionary stage.
The astronomical …show more content…
He classified these group of stars as the main sequence, this is of which the Earth’s sun is a member of.
The two astral scientists later discovered the existence of other stars of which were categorized as white dwarfs (lower left), red dwarfs (lower right), super giants (upper left), and red super giants (upper right).
When Russell plotted these on the diagram, each star was represented as a dot, and the position of each dot on the diagram corresponds to the luminosity and temperature of the star.
The vertical position represents a star’s luminosity and the horizontal position represents the star’s temperature.
Scientists then concluded that based on its initial mass, each star faces an evolutionary process determined by its internal structure and how it produces energy. These individual changes were found to relate to the star’s luminosity and temperature which can be graphically seen to move to different areas on the HR Diagram as it evolves. Based on this astronomer’s realised and used the HR Diagram as means to determine a star’s evolutionary stage and internal …show more content…
They also realized that over time this powered energy would run out and the fusion would burn out and therefore leading to the death of the stars.
The basis of this realization originated from the formation of stars. This is where all stars a formed in clouds of dust and gas called a nebulae.
Nebulae originates from these clouds of dusts and gas due to gravitational forces within particular regions of the nebula itself contracting into solid clusters and as the mass of clumps (clusters) collapse inwards, the temperature arises in the star and reaches up to 10 million Degrees Celsius at which is the point where nuclear fusion starts.
Worldwide scientists later discovered that at the beginning of a stars life, hydrogen is constantly being burned within the clouded dusts bringing the nebula together and as time passes, it would eventually be converted into helium gas thus releasing energy that heats the star and the resulting outward pressure balanced the inward pull of gravity.
The speed at which the collapse happen, the life span of a star, and its death are determined by the star’s mass.