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A graph that plots luminosity versus temperature of stars is known as the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (H-R diagram). In this plot, temperature is typically displayed on the horizontal axis (decreasing from left to right), while luminosity is shown on the vertical axis. The H-R diagram reveals distinct groups of stars, such as main sequence stars, giants, and supergiants, providing insights into their evolutionary stages. This relationship helps astronomers understand stellar characteristics and the life cycles of stars.

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What is the axes of Hertzsprung-Russell diagram?

The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is a graphical representation of stars that plots their luminosity (or absolute magnitude) on the vertical axis against their surface temperature (or spectral class) on the horizontal axis. The temperature axis typically decreases from left to right, with hotter stars on the left and cooler stars on the right. This diagram helps classify stars into different categories, such as main sequence stars, giants, and white dwarfs, based on their luminosity and temperature.


What is an HR diagram and what does it mean to the stars?

A HR diagram(abbreviation of Hertzsprung Russel diagram) is a graph of stars' surface temperatures(x axis) versus their luminosities(y axis). Basically, what we do is observe a lot of stars, find each star's temperature and luminosity and put them all there on the graph. This graph is important in understanding stellar evolution due to a theorem called ergodic theorem. Let us see how. When a star is born, it has a particular luminosity and temperature. As it lives its life, it's luminosity and temperature keeps changing, and finally it finishes it life. Basically, what I mean is that you take a star when it's born, find its temperature and luminosity, put that on a graph that reads luminosity versus temperature for y and x axis respectively, wait a few million years, see the star again, find it's then temperature and luminosity, put that on that graph, and keep doing it till the star dies. What you get then is a graph that tells you how the star's luminosity and temperature changed as it lived it's life. With luminosity and temperature, you can calculate all other stuff about the star and write down it's biography! Do that with all stars, and you get loads of biographies of different stars, and you become a master of stellar evolution! But wait, there is an issue here...a star typically lives it's life in the order of a billion years. We humans evolved one million years back, we discovered telescopes four hundred years back, and a typical human lives a hundred years, how will we understand stars with such little time?! The answer is HR diagram!! Now back to ergodic theorem, it says that seeing a thousand stars as they appear to us now and finding their temperature and luminosity and then putting it on HR graph is same as following a star all it's life! Essentially a shortcut to understanding stars! That's the big advantage of HR diagram in studying stars... of course, the focus of my answer was the importance of ergodicity in studying stars but not explaining in detail the concept of ergodicity. That you can find in any statistical mechanics text book or maybe I can explain that somewhere in answers.com soon! Cheers, hope my answer helped!:)


What does the temperature of stars tell us about luminosity?

The temperature of stars is closely related to their luminosity through the Stefan-Boltzmann Law, which states that a star's luminosity (L) is proportional to the fourth power of its temperature (T), expressed as (L \propto T^4). This means that even small increases in temperature can lead to significant increases in luminosity. Additionally, the temperature helps classify stars into different spectral types, which also correlates with their intrinsic brightness. Therefore, by measuring a star's temperature, we can infer its luminosity and understand its stage in the stellar lifecycle.


How do the stars luminosity compare with their radius?

A star's luminosity is related to its radius and temperature through the Stefan-Boltzmann law, which states that luminosity (L) is proportional to the square of the radius (R) multiplied by the fourth power of its surface temperature (T): (L \propto R^2 T^4). This means that for two stars of the same temperature, a larger radius results in significantly greater luminosity. Conversely, for stars of similar size, a higher temperature will lead to increased luminosity. Thus, both radius and temperature are crucial in determining a star's luminosity.


The hr diagram graphs what 2 things?

The temperature and luminosity of stars.

Related Questions

Does An HR diagram plots a stars luminosity and surface temperature?

Yes, an HR diagram plots a star's luminosity (brightness) against its surface temperature, also known as color or spectral type. This graph shows the relationship between these two characteristics for different stars, allowing astronomers to classify and study them.


What is a graph that shows relationship between a stars magnitude and temperature?

The Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram is a graph that shows the relationship between a star's magnitude (luminosity) and temperature. It plots stars based on their color (temperature) and brightness (magnitude), allowing astronomers to classify stars and understand their evolutionary stage.


A graph used by scientists that shows stars grouped by size is called the?

Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. This diagram plots a star's luminosity against its temperature (or color), allowing scientists to classify stars by size, brightness, and lifecycle stage.


What is a H-R diagram?

The Hertzsprung--Russell diagram (or H-R diagram) is a scatter graph of stars showing the relationship between the stars' absolute magnitudes or luminosity versus their spectral types or classifications and effective temperatures. See related link for a pictorial


What is the axes of Hertzsprung-Russell diagram?

The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is a graphical representation of stars that plots their luminosity (or absolute magnitude) on the vertical axis against their surface temperature (or spectral class) on the horizontal axis. The temperature axis typically decreases from left to right, with hotter stars on the left and cooler stars on the right. This diagram helps classify stars into different categories, such as main sequence stars, giants, and white dwarfs, based on their luminosity and temperature.


What is an HR diagram and what does it mean to the stars?

A HR diagram(abbreviation of Hertzsprung Russel diagram) is a graph of stars' surface temperatures(x axis) versus their luminosities(y axis). Basically, what we do is observe a lot of stars, find each star's temperature and luminosity and put them all there on the graph. This graph is important in understanding stellar evolution due to a theorem called ergodic theorem. Let us see how. When a star is born, it has a particular luminosity and temperature. As it lives its life, it's luminosity and temperature keeps changing, and finally it finishes it life. Basically, what I mean is that you take a star when it's born, find its temperature and luminosity, put that on a graph that reads luminosity versus temperature for y and x axis respectively, wait a few million years, see the star again, find it's then temperature and luminosity, put that on that graph, and keep doing it till the star dies. What you get then is a graph that tells you how the star's luminosity and temperature changed as it lived it's life. With luminosity and temperature, you can calculate all other stuff about the star and write down it's biography! Do that with all stars, and you get loads of biographies of different stars, and you become a master of stellar evolution! But wait, there is an issue here...a star typically lives it's life in the order of a billion years. We humans evolved one million years back, we discovered telescopes four hundred years back, and a typical human lives a hundred years, how will we understand stars with such little time?! The answer is HR diagram!! Now back to ergodic theorem, it says that seeing a thousand stars as they appear to us now and finding their temperature and luminosity and then putting it on HR graph is same as following a star all it's life! Essentially a shortcut to understanding stars! That's the big advantage of HR diagram in studying stars... of course, the focus of my answer was the importance of ergodicity in studying stars but not explaining in detail the concept of ergodicity. That you can find in any statistical mechanics text book or maybe I can explain that somewhere in answers.com soon! Cheers, hope my answer helped!:)


What diagram classifies stars on a temperature- luminosity graph?

Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram classifies stars based on their luminosity (brightness) and temperature. This diagram allows astronomers to categorize stars into main sequence, giants, supergiants, white dwarfs, and other classes based on their positions in the diagram. It provides insights into the life cycle and evolutionary stage of stars.


Which statement describes the general relationship between temperature and luminosity of main sequence stars?

as surface temperature increases, luminosity increases


What two characteristics are stars classified by?

They are classified by the amount of Light they give off, and their temperature.


What does the temperature of stars tell us about luminosity?

The temperature of stars is closely related to their luminosity through the Stefan-Boltzmann Law, which states that a star's luminosity (L) is proportional to the fourth power of its temperature (T), expressed as (L \propto T^4). This means that even small increases in temperature can lead to significant increases in luminosity. Additionally, the temperature helps classify stars into different spectral types, which also correlates with their intrinsic brightness. Therefore, by measuring a star's temperature, we can infer its luminosity and understand its stage in the stellar lifecycle.


How do the stars luminosity compare with their radius?

A star's luminosity is related to its radius and temperature through the Stefan-Boltzmann law, which states that luminosity (L) is proportional to the square of the radius (R) multiplied by the fourth power of its surface temperature (T): (L \propto R^2 T^4). This means that for two stars of the same temperature, a larger radius results in significantly greater luminosity. Conversely, for stars of similar size, a higher temperature will lead to increased luminosity. Thus, both radius and temperature are crucial in determining a star's luminosity.


Does the H-R diagram classify stars by the amount of heat they create?

The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (H-R diagram) is a graph of stars showing the stars' luminosities or absolute magnitude versus their spectral type which is related to their effective temperature.