Who Developed The Spectral Classification System For Stars?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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The scheme in use today is the Harvard spectral classification scheme which was developed at Harvard college observatory in the late 1800s, and refined to its present incarnation by

Annie Jump Cannon

for publication in 1924.

Who created the classification system for stars that uses o’b a f/g k and m?

In the 1890s,

Annie Jump Cannon

revised this classification system, focusing on just a few letters from the original system: A, B, F, G, K, M, and O. Instead of starting over, Cannon also rearranged the existing classes—in order of decreasing temperature—into the sequence we have learned: O, B, A, F, G, K, M.

Which astronomer first deciphered the spectral type of stars?


William Huggins

(1864) identified several chemical elements in stellar spectra, discovered emission lines in planetary nebulae, and documented significant spectral differences among the spectra of bright stars.

How are the spectra classified?

Stars are classified

based on the properties of their spectra

, primarily the absorption lines present due to metals in the outer layers of the star. These properties are determined primarily by the temperature of the star, but the physical size of the star also plays a role.

What are the 7 types of stars?

There are seven main types of stars. In order of decreasing temperature,

O, B, A, F, G, K, and M

. This is known as the Morgan–Keenan (MK) system. The majority of all stars in our galaxy and even the Universe are main-sequence stars.

What classification of stars is the coolest?


M stars

are the coldest stars and O stars are the hottest. The full system contains other types that are hard to find: W, R, N, and S. The closest star to the Earth, the sun, is a class G star.

What does OH a fine girl kiss me mean?

Every student in introductory astronomy learns the mnemonic “Oh Be a Fine Girl/Guy, Kiss Me”, which is

a way to remember the spectral classification of stars

. … Oh: O class stars are the hottest, with peak temperatures in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum.

What is star life cycle?

A star’s life cycle is

determined by its mass

. The larger its mass, the shorter its life cycle. A star’s mass is determined by the amount of matter that is available in its nebula, the giant cloud of gas and dust from which it was born.

What are the 3 main types of stars?

  • Protostar. A protostar is what comes before a star has formed – a collection of gas that collapsed from a huge molecular cloud. …
  • T Tauri Stars. …
  • Main Sequence Stars. …
  • Red Giant Stars. …
  • White Dwarf Stars. …
  • Red Dwarf Stars. …
  • Neutron Stars. …
  • Supergiant Stars.

What is the Harvard classification of stellar spectra?

Class Effective temperature Main-sequence luminosity (bolometric) B 10,000–30,000 K 25–30,000 L


A 7,500–10,000 K 5–25 L


F 6,000–7,500 K 1.5–5 L


G 5,200–6,000 K 0.6–1.5 L


What spectral classification is the hottest star?

The spectral sequence is also a colour sequence:

the O- and B-type stars

are intrinsically the bluest and hottest; the M-, R-, N-, and S-type stars are the reddest and coolest.

How do you classify stars?

Astronomers classify stars according

to their physical characteristics

. Characteristics used to classify stars include color, temperature, size, composition, and brightness. Stars vary in their chemical composition.

What is the rarest star in the universe?

An

O-type star

is a hot, blue-white star of spectral type O in the Yerkes classification system employed by astronomers.

What is the biggest star?

Although it’s difficult to pin down the exact traits of any given star, based on what we know, the largest star is

UY Scuti

, which is some 1,700 times as wide as the Sun.

What classification of stars is the oldest?

HD 140283 (or the Methuselah star) is a

metal-poor subgiant star

about 200 light years away from the Earth in the constellation Libra, near the boundary with Ophiuchus in the Milky Way Galaxy. Its apparent magnitude is 7.205. It is one of the oldest stars known.

Which type of star is hottest?


Blue stars

are the hottest stars of all. Stars are not really star-shaped. They are round like our sun.

Emily Lee
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Emily Lee
Emily Lee is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. She’s an accomplished writer with a deep passion for the arts, and brings a unique perspective to the world of entertainment. Emily has written about art, entertainment, and pop culture.