Learn about the different types of stars categorized according to their mass and temperature - red dwarfs, red giants, supergiants, white, and brown dwarf stars
Learn about the different types of stars categorized according to their mass and temperature - red dwarfs, red giants, supergiants, white, and brown dwarf stars
Overview of several types of stars, notably the red dwarf, red giant, supergiant, white dwarf, and brown dwarf.
© Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
When you look up at the sky, you'd be forgiven for thinking that all stars are the same, but that's far from the case. In fact, there are lots of different types of stars, from brown dwarfs to white supergiants that can be categorized according to their mass and temperature, as in this Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.
Red dwarfs are small stars with temperatures cooler than that of the sun. They are the most common stars in our galaxy and are less than half of the mass of the sun. They burn slowly and so live for a long time relative to other star types. They are positioned below the main sequence on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.
Red giants are cooler than the sun, so they have a red-orange tinge to the visible light they emit. Living up to their names, the largest red giants may be over 100 times the size of the sun. Red giants are stars near the end of their life. They come above the main sequence on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.
Stretching across the upper regions of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram are the supergiants that cover a wide range of temperatures. These stars are truly enormous. Placed in the center of our solar system, the largest of these, such as the red supergiant Betelgeuse in Orion, would engulf all the planets out to the orbit of Saturn. Like Betelgeuse, Rigel in the Orion constellation is also a supergiant, but it has a blue-white supergiant.
Supergiants are high mass stars near the end of their life. When a supergiant dies, it explodes as a supernova then shrinks to become a black hole.
There is a group of very faint but hot stars in the bottom left of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. These are called white dwarfs and are so faint that none is visible to the naked eye. They are very small and dense, formed when a main sequence star reaches the end of its life. White dwarf stars gradually cool over time until they no longer emit light.
The smallest, dimmest, and coolest stars are brown dwarfs. They are at the bottom end of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, at the lowest part of the main sequence. They are also known as failed stars and are very difficult to detect, as they do not have sufficient mass for nuclear fusion to occur.
The main variables in star formation are mass and temperature, it is these which produce the wide variety of stars we see and many we can't.
Red dwarfs are small stars with temperatures cooler than that of the sun. They are the most common stars in our galaxy and are less than half of the mass of the sun. They burn slowly and so live for a long time relative to other star types. They are positioned below the main sequence on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.
Red giants are cooler than the sun, so they have a red-orange tinge to the visible light they emit. Living up to their names, the largest red giants may be over 100 times the size of the sun. Red giants are stars near the end of their life. They come above the main sequence on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.
Stretching across the upper regions of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram are the supergiants that cover a wide range of temperatures. These stars are truly enormous. Placed in the center of our solar system, the largest of these, such as the red supergiant Betelgeuse in Orion, would engulf all the planets out to the orbit of Saturn. Like Betelgeuse, Rigel in the Orion constellation is also a supergiant, but it has a blue-white supergiant.
Supergiants are high mass stars near the end of their life. When a supergiant dies, it explodes as a supernova then shrinks to become a black hole.
There is a group of very faint but hot stars in the bottom left of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. These are called white dwarfs and are so faint that none is visible to the naked eye. They are very small and dense, formed when a main sequence star reaches the end of its life. White dwarf stars gradually cool over time until they no longer emit light.
The smallest, dimmest, and coolest stars are brown dwarfs. They are at the bottom end of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, at the lowest part of the main sequence. They are also known as failed stars and are very difficult to detect, as they do not have sufficient mass for nuclear fusion to occur.
The main variables in star formation are mass and temperature, it is these which produce the wide variety of stars we see and many we can't.