e. there is a minimum temperature for hydrogen fusion.
There are fewer stars on the upper main sequence because these stars have shorter lifespans compared to their lower-mass counterparts. High-mass stars burn through their nuclear fuel quickly, exiting the main sequence in a relatively short time, often in just a few million years. In contrast, lower-mass stars can remain on the main sequence for billions of years, leading to a greater abundance of them. Consequently, the upper main sequence is less populated due to the rapid evolution of high-mass stars.
They are both hotter and cooler because the main sequence contains a lot of stars including the Sun. The main sequence is a region on a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram which plots stars on a graph of brightness against surface temperature. Each star is a point on the diagram because it has one value of brightness and one of temperature. All the main-sequence stars lie on or near a line drawn from top left to lower right. The Sun is about halfway along the main sequence.
The main sequence is a map of star brightness against their temperature. Stars that lie on the main sequence in the top left are the high mass stars. Cooler, smaller stars lie near the line at the lower right.
On a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a main sequence star that is cooler and dimmer than the Sun would appear to the right and below the Sun's position. The Sun is located approximately in the middle of the main sequence, so a cooler and dimmer star would have a lower temperature and luminosity compared to the Sun, indicating it would be plotted in the lower left section of the main sequence.
Most stars are plotted along the main sequence in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram, which extends diagonally from the upper left (hot and luminous stars) to the lower right (cool and less luminous stars). This is because the majority of stars, including our Sun, spend the majority of their lives in the main sequence phase where they are fusing hydrogen into helium.
The reason main sequence has a limit at the lower end is because of temperature and pressure. The lower limit exists in order to exclude stellar objects that are not able to sustain hydrogen fusion.
There are fewer stars on the upper main sequence because these stars have shorter lifespans compared to their lower-mass counterparts. High-mass stars burn through their nuclear fuel quickly, exiting the main sequence in a relatively short time, often in just a few million years. In contrast, lower-mass stars can remain on the main sequence for billions of years, leading to a greater abundance of them. Consequently, the upper main sequence is less populated due to the rapid evolution of high-mass stars.
They are both hotter and cooler because the main sequence contains a lot of stars including the Sun. The main sequence is a region on a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram which plots stars on a graph of brightness against surface temperature. Each star is a point on the diagram because it has one value of brightness and one of temperature. All the main-sequence stars lie on or near a line drawn from top left to lower right. The Sun is about halfway along the main sequence.
Because, giants can only occur once they leave the main sequence.
The main sequence is a map of star brightness against their temperature. Stars that lie on the main sequence in the top left are the high mass stars. Cooler, smaller stars lie near the line at the lower right.
Because there not that hot
Stars don't "lose" their "main sequence", because it's not something a star can "have" in the first place.Stars are more properly described as being "on" or "off" the "main sequence", and "sequence" isn't a good word for it anyway, because it implies that there is an actual sequence of events involved; in fact, the normal life sequence of a star has it going off the main "sequence".It may help if you stop thinking of them as "main sequence" stars and start thinking of them as either dwarfs or type III stars.
On a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, a main sequence star that is cooler and dimmer than the Sun would appear to the right and below the Sun's position. The Sun is located approximately in the middle of the main sequence, so a cooler and dimmer star would have a lower temperature and luminosity compared to the Sun, indicating it would be plotted in the lower left section of the main sequence.
The lower right part of the main sequence in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram contains the stars that took the longest to reach the main sequence. These stars are low mass and cool, so they undergo a longer contraction phase before they start fusing hydrogen in their cores and settle onto the main sequence.
The Sun is a medium mass star on the main sequence.
Most stars are plotted along the main sequence in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram, which extends diagonally from the upper left (hot and luminous stars) to the lower right (cool and less luminous stars). This is because the majority of stars, including our Sun, spend the majority of their lives in the main sequence phase where they are fusing hydrogen into helium.
Depending on how "low" on the chart it will either be a red dwarf or a PMS (Pre-main sequence) star.