Binary Stars and Stellar Classification Concepts

binary stars

two stars that revolve about each other

brown dwarf

an object intermediate in size between a planet and a star; the approximate mass range is from about 1/100 of the mass of the Sun up to the lower mass limit for self-sustaining nuclear reactions, which is about 1/12 the mass of the Sun

eclipsing binary

a binary star in which the plane of revolution of the two stars is nearly edge-on to our line of sight, so that the light of one star is periodically diminished by the other passing in front of it

H-R diagram

(Hertzsprung-Russell diagram) a plot of luminosity against surface temperature (or spectral type) for a group of stars

main sequence

a sequence of stars on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, containing the majority of stars, that runs diagonally from the upper left to the lower right

mass-luminosity relation

the observed relation between the masses and luminosities of many (90% of all) stars

selection effect

the selection of sample data in a nonrandom way, causing the sample data to be unrepresentative of the entire data set

spectroscopic binary

a binary star in which the components are not resolved but whose binary nature is indicated by periodic variations in radial velocity, indicating orbital motion

visual binary

a binary star in which the two components are telescopically resolved

white dwarf

a low-mass star that has exhausted most or all of its nuclear fuel and has collapsed to a very small size; such a star is near its final state of life