Observational Data :

Astronomical Coordinates – Celestial Sphere, Horizon, Equatorial, Ecliptic and

Galactic System of Coordinates, Conversion from one system of coordinates into
another

Magnitude scale – Apparent and Absolute Magnitude

Determination of mass, luminosity, radius, temperature and distance of a star,

colour index

Stellar Spectral classification – Henry- Draper and Modern MK classification

schemes

H-R diagram, H-R diagram of Clusters, Empirical Mass Luminosity relation

Reference Books

Modern Astrophysics – Carrol & Ostlie

Astronomy – Zeilik

Fundamental Astronomy – Kartunnen et al.

Physical Universe – Frank Shu

IGNOU PHE-15 Course Material on A&A

 Starlight
!  In astronomy, we cannot perform experiments
with our objects
!  The only way to investigate them, is by analyzing
the signals (light and other radiation) which we
receive from them.
!  Decoding these signals gives us insights into how
stars are born, how they evolve and how they die
!  Observations and subsequent measurements of
stellar properties allow us to test our theories
 Stellar Parameters

Intrinsic: Extrinsic:
!  Luminosity !  Position
!  Size !  Distance
!  Surface Temperature !  Radial velocity
!  Composition !  Proper motion
!  Mass
!  Spectrum [ Iλ (λ) ]
!  Color(s)
!  Rotation rate
!  Magnetic field strength
!  Activity Cycle
!  Stellar wind strength
!  Age
 ASTRONOMICAL DISTANCES

AU : Earth-Sun distance

Light Year: Distance travelled by light in one year

PARSEC is another unit of distance and is equal to 3.26 light years

Why are Distances Important?

Distances are necessary for estimating:

• Total energy released by an object (Luminosity)

• Masses of objects from orbital motions (Kepler's third law)
• Physical sizes of objects
 Measuring Stellar Distances

Parallax: nearby objects

appear to shift with
respect to background as
observer moves
 Measuring Stellar Distances
Parallax Method

A nearby star will change position on the sky relative to distant (background) stars.

Observing the object from points A and B, we can compute the distance to it from
angle “p” and the length of the baseline.
 Measuring Stellar Distances

Parallax: nearby objects

appear to shift with
respect to background as
observer moves
 Measuring Stellar Distances

Parallax Method

Parallax is measured in arc-seconds

Expression for parallax: p = a / d ( radians) = 206,265 a/d (arc-seconds)

1 parsec = the distance at which 1 AU subtends an angle of 1 arc-second

1 parsec (pc) = 206265 AU = 3 X 1013 km = 3.26 light years

 Measuring Stellar Distances

Parallax Method

• Parallax becomes smaller as the distance to a star increases

• Parallax can not be measured to better than ~0.02" from the ground (d < 50 pc)
• Alpha Cen has the largest parallax (~0.8")
• The satellite Hipparcos (1989) has measured the parallax of 120,000 stars to better than 0.002"
d < 500 pc

• The star alpha Centauri has a • A star is measured to have a parallax
parallax of p=0.76-arcsec: of p=0.02-arcsec:
Hipparcos

HIgh
Precision
PARallax
COllecting
Satellite
(1989-1993)
 Luminosity and Apparent Brightness
Light from any source
fades as the distance Luminosity, L: energy emitted per unit
squared - referred to as time; units = ergs/s, W.
geometric dilution
Flux, F or apparent brightness: ergs/s/
cm2 is the energy passing through area
⊥ to the line-of-sight per unit time.

Flux measurements depend on

luminosity AND distance.

To determine a star s true luminosity,

both its apparent brightness and
distance must be measured.

L
b=
4πd 2

€
Measuring Brightness of Stars
 The apparent magnitude scale

The apparent brightness of a star as measured by the human eye

(or human perception) defines the stellar magnitude scale. This is
a logarithmic scale.

The old magnitude scale was introduced by the Greek

astronomer Hipparcos: brightest stars have a magnitude m = 1,
the faintest, m = 6.

Stellar brightness is
defined in terms of
⇒ magnitudes ⇐
 The apparent magnitude scale
1856 - N.R. Pogson formalized the magnitude system so that a
1st magnitude star is 100 times brighter than a 6th magnitude
star. Or, a 1st magnitude star is 2.512 times brighter than a 2nd
magnitude star.
A variation of 1 in the magnitude scale corresponds to a factor of
2.512 in brightness, because (2.512)5 = 100.
Apparent magnitude Apparent brightness ratio b2/b1
difference m1- m2
1 2.512
2 2.5122 = 6.31
3 2.5123 = 15.85
4 2.5124 = 39.82
5 2.5125 = 100
10 2.51210 = 104
20 2.51220 = 108
 The apparent magnitude scale

These are apparent magnitudes, because they are

related to the apparent brightness (i.e. they have no
information about the total output of energy from a
star).

Dimmer stars have higher apparent magnitudes.

The relationship between apparent magnitude and

apparent brightness is:
b1/b2 = 2.512-(m1 - m2) which translates into:
m1 - m2 = - 2.5 log (b1/b2)
 The apparent magnitude scale

Modern magnitude scale is extended in both directions

 The Absolute Magnitude Scale

The apparent magnitude scale is distance independent.

Therefore, this scale has no information about how luminous
stars are.
Thus, the absolute magnitude scale was introduced to
characterize the luminosity (L) of stars by including the
distance.
The absolute magnitude of a star (M) is the apparent
magnitude the star would have if it were at a distance of 10
parsec.

M1 - M2 = - 2.5 log (L1/L2)

 The Relationship Between Absolute and Apparent Magnitude:

If the apparent magnitude of a star is m and its absolute magnitude

is M (its real brightness), then the distance to the star, d in parsecs, is
given by:

m − M = 5 log10 (d ) − 5
M = m + 5 − 5 log10 (d )

m - apparent magnitudes (mag)

M - absolute magnitude (mag)
d - distance (pc)
m - M is called the distance modulus
 The Relationship Between Absolute and Apparent Magnitude:

Consider that we already know that the Sun has m = -26.8, and it is located
at 1 A.U. ( astronomical unit) from us.

1 A.U. = 1.5 x 1013 cm = 4.85 x 10-6 pc = semi-major axis of earth's orbit.

The sun has a luminosity of 1 solar luminosity Lsun = 3.9 x 1033 erg s-1.

We can calculate the absolute magnitude of the Sun Msun by considering

how much fainter the Sun would appear if it were located at 10 pc from us
instead of 1 A.U. For the Sun:

Thus, the absolute magnitude of the sun is Msun = +4.77. Similarly, for other
stars, a star of a certain absolute magnitude M, is more/less luminous than
the sun according to:

M = +4.77 - 2.5 log (L / Lsun).

 Assignment

1.  The apparent magnitude of the Sun as seen from the Earth is -26.7. What is the apparent
magnitude of the Sun as seen from Jupiter (orbital radius 5.2 AU)?

2.  If a star has an apparent magnitude m = 0.4 and a parallax of 0.3 , what is (a) the distance
modulus (b) the absolute magnitude?

3.  What is the distance (in parsecs) of a star whose absolute magnitude is +6.0 and whose
apparent magnitude is +16.0.

4.  The magnitude difference between two stars A & B is 14. What is the luminosity ratio of A & B. The
ratio of luminosities of two stars C & D is 1000. What is the difference in the magnitude of C & D.

5.  Alpha Centauri is a visual binary system with a combined apparent magnitude of -0.29. The pair
can be separated easily in a small telescope, and it is found that the apparent magnitude of the
brighter component is -0.01. What is the apparent magnitude of the fainter component?

6.  Two stars are known from their spectra to have the same luminosity. Star B is three times as far
away as star A.
(a) What is the ratio of the flux received from star A to that received from star B?
(b) If star B has an apparent magnitude of 8.0, what is the apparent magnitude of star B?
(c) Star B is a member of a visual binary. Its companion star, C, has apparent magnitude 8.6. What
is the ratio of the flux received from C to that received from B?
(d) What is the combined magnitude of the B+C system, seen through a small telescope which does
not resolve them as separate stars?
Measuring Temperatures of Stars
Colors and Temperatures of stars

Wien's Law
Color and Temperature
Stars appear in different Orion
colors,
Betelgeuse
from blue (like Rigel)
via green / yellow (like
our sun)
to red (like Betelgeuse).

These colors tell us Rigel

about the star s

temperature.
The Color of a Star

B band
V band
The color of a star is measured
by comparing its brightness in
two different wavelength
bands:
The blue (B) band and the
visual (V) band.
 !
!
!Filters!
!
Op+cal!devices!called!filters!allow!light!to!pass!in!a!limited!range!of!wavelengths!
and!thus!allow!photometric!observa+ons!at!one!or!more!specific!wavelengths!
!
!
FILTERS!!!!!!!!!!!Wavelength!(Ang)!
U!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !3600!!
B ! !4400 ! ! !!
V ! !5500!
R ! !7000!
I ! !9000!
! ! !!
! ! !22,000!
!!!!!! !!
 Astronomical Color Filters

In stellar astronomy, the following filters are the most common

U (ultraviolet) B (blue) V (visual)

Their transmission of light as a function of wavelength, as well as the response

of the average human eye, is illustrated below

V!!magnitude!corresponds!!roughly!to!that!which!would!be!es+mated!by!eye!
!
B!!mag!corresponds!roughly!to!that!obtained!by!using!a!blue!sensi+ve!photographic!
emulsion!
!
U!!mag!!Q!no!visual!or!photographic!analogue.!Suitable!for!high!al+tude!sites!
 Colour Index
A color index is defined by taking the difference in magnitudes (which are related
logarithmically to intensity) at two different wavelengths.

Using the U, B, and V color filters, there are three possible independent differences.

For example, the B-V color index is defined by taking the difference between the magnitudes in
the blue and visual regions of the spectrum and the

U-B color index is the analogous difference between the UV and blue regions of the spectrum.

Examples:
The star Spica has apparent magnitudes U = -0.24, B = 0.7, and V = 0.9 in the UV, blue, and
photovisual regions, respectively. The corresponding color indices are

B - V = 0.7 - 0.9 = - 0.2

U - B = -0.24 -0.7 = - 0.94

Generally, the negative values of these color indices are an indication that Spica is a hot star,
with most of its radiation coming at shorter wavelengths. On the other hand, for Antares
B = 2.7 and V=0.9, and the B - V color index is

B - V = 2.7 - 0.9 = 1.8

The positive value of B - V in this case is an indication that Antares is a cool star, with most of
its radiation coming at longer wavelengths.
Colour Index
 Bolometric Magnitude
The total luminosity is a measure of all the energy the star puts out over
all wavelengths, from the far infrared to the extreme ultraviolet.
Astronomers refer to this as the star's bolometric luminosity.

The Bolometric Correction

So how do we measure the bolometric magnitude of a star? We usually
don't! We measure the magnitude of the star in some filter (say, V) and
apply a bolometric correction, i.e.:

For example, we said the (bolometric) absolute magnitude for the Sun
was M = 4.76. Its absolute V magnitude is 4.83, so its bolometric
correction is BC=4.76-4.83=-0.07.
 The Bolometric Correction

The bolometric correction is large both for hot stars and for cool stars.

Because:

For hot stars, a substantial part of the produced radiation is in the ultraviolet.

For cool stars, a large part is in the infrared.

For a star like our Sun, the correction is only marginal because the Sun
radiates most of its energy in the visual wavelength range.
 Measuring Sizes of Stars
STELLAR RADII

For stars, the luminosity, temperature and radius are linked by an expansion of
Stefan-Boltzmann's law that says:

L = 4πR2σT4

This equation can be expressing in terms

of solar units such that:

L/Lo = (R/Ro)2(T/To)4

where Lo, Ro and To are the luminosity,

radius and surface temperature of the Sun.

Knowing T, L, Lo, To, Ro, radius of a star

can be determined.
L = 4πR2σT4
Measuring Sizes of Stars
Measuring Sizes of Stars
Measuring Sizes of Stars
 Using!Binary!Stars!to!Determine!Stellar!Masses

! Binary stars provide virtually the only means of directly determining the
masses of stars other than our Sun.

! Knowing a star's mass determines its life cycle and fate,

! Accurate determination of stellar masses is vital in refining our models of

stars.

Binary.html!
 Kepler's!Laws!
!
To find the mass of a binary system we need to apply Kepler's Laws. If we
adapt them for a binary system where the masses of the component stars are
similar then:

1. The stars orbit each other in elliptical orbits, with the centre of mass (or
barycenter) as one common focus.

2. The line between the stars (the radius vector) sweeps out equal areas in
equal periods of time (sometimes called the Law of Equal Areas).

3. The square of a star's period, T, is directly proportional to the cube of its

average distance from the centre of system mass, r: T2 r3. This is the Law
of Periods or Harmonic Law.
 Deriving!Equa+ons!for!Mass!of!Binary!System

centre!of!mass!(Barycenter)!!of!the!system!!is!where! mArA!=!mBrB!!
!
! as!r!=rA!+!rB!!,!!rB!=!r!Q!rA!
!
mArA!=!mB(r!Q!rA)!
!
mArA!=!mB!r!Q!mB!rA!
!
!rA!=!mBr/(mA!+!mB)!

rA!=!mBr/M!!
 !
The!forces!ac+ng!on!each!star!are!balanced,!that!is!the!gravita+onal!force!equals!the!
centripetal!force.!!!!!!!So!!!!
FG!=!FC!or!!!!!!GmAmB/r2!=!mAv2/rA!!!!!!!!!!!!!where!v!is!the!orbital!speed!of!A.!!
!
Unless!v!can!be!measured!or!inferred!directly!from!Doppler!shi]!in!its!spectrum!it!
must!be!calculated!from!the!period,!T:!
!
v!=!2πrA/T!!!!!!subs+tu+ng!!this!!in!the!above!equa+on!
!
GmB/r2!=!4π2rA/T2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!so!if!we!then!subs+tute!rA!=!mBr/M!!
!
GmB/r2!=!4π2mBr/T2M!!!!!or!!!!!!!!M!=!4π2r3/GT2!!
!
which!can!be!rewri`en!as:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!mA!+!mB!=!4π2r3/GT2!!
!
which!is!simply!an!expression!of!Kepler's!3rd!Law;!!!!r3/T2!=!GM/4π2!
mA!+!mB!=!4π2r3/GT2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!or!!!!!!!!!!!!r3/T2!=!GM/4π2!
!
Using!above,!we!can!determine!the!mass!of!the!binary!system!if!we!can!!
measure!the!orbital!period!and!the!radius!vector!(separa+on!between!the!two!
components)!for!the!system.!In!prac+ce!most!systems!will!not!have!their!orbital!
plane!perpendicular!to!us!so!we!need!to!adjust!for!the!observed!inclina+on.!!

While!it!is!rela+vely!straight!forward!to!determine!the!total!system!mass,!it!is!
harder!to!determine!the!individual!masses!of!the!component!stars.!!
!
This!requires!the!distance!from!a!component!star!to!the!barycenter!to!also!be!
measured.!We!can!then!use!this!to!determine!the!mass!of!that!star!by!using:!

mA!=!M(r!Q!rA)/r!!
!

Once!the!mass!of!one!component!and!the!total!system!is!known!it!is!
straigheorward!to!calculate!the!mass!of!the!other!component.
 Assignment!
!
1:!Determining!the!total!mass!of!a!system.!
The!α!Centauri!system!is!1.338!pc!distant!with!a!period!of!79.92!years.!The!A!
and!B!components!have!a!mean!separa+on!of!23.7!AU!(although!the!orbits!
are!highly!ellip+cal).!What*is*the*total*mass*of*the*system?*
*
!
2:!Calcula+ng!the!mass!of!one!of!the!component!stars.!
As!α!Cen!is!a!nearby!visual!binary!system,!careful!astrometric!
observa+ons!reveal!that!the!primary!component,!α!Cen!A!has!a!mean!
distance!of!11.2!AU!from!the!system's!barycenter.!What*is*the*mass*of*
each*of*the*component*stars*in*the*system?!
 Mass Luminosity Relationship

Detailed observations, particularly in binary star systems where masses can be

determined with some reliability, indicate that there is a correlation between the
mass of a star and its luminosity.

We see that on this plot most stars fall very near a straight line. This is called the
mass-luminosity relation for main-sequence stars.

Example: If we double the mass of a main sequence star, the luminosity increases by a factor 2 3.5 ~ 11.3.
Thus, stars like Sirius that are about twice as massive as the Sun are more than 10 times as luminous.
Observa+ons!of!192!stars!
 Spectrum of a Star

• Almost all stars show a "continuum" spectum

with "absorption" lines.

• Some stars show "emission" lines.

• All stars do not have the same spectrum!

 Kirchoff s Laws

Gustav Kirchoff in 1860, came up with three laws describing the processes behind three types of
spectra. The laws are :

1. A hot solid, liquid or gas at high pressure has a

continuous spectrum.

There is energy at all wavelengths.

2. A gas at low pressure and high temperature will

produce emission lines.

There is energy only at specific wavelengths.

3. A gas at low pressure in front of a hot
continuum causes absorption lines.

Spectrum
Ground based optical Telescopes work at λ ~ 4000-9000 A0
Instruments extend the usage to ~ 3000 (UV end) &
10000 A0 (IR end)
Spectral Signatures allow us to know about :

• Chemical composition of the stars

• Abundances of the elements
• Physical conditions of the gases such as densities and
temperature
Stellar Spectra

O
B

Surface temperature
A
F
G
K
M
Analyzing Absorption Spectra
•  Each element produces a specific set of
absorption (and emission) lines.
•  Comparing the relative strengths of these sets of lines,
we can study the composition of gases.

By far the
most
abundant
elements
in the
Universe
The spectral lines in the ultraviolet are the Lyman series.
In the visible these are called the Balmer series.

Transition
Series Designation Wavelength
(Levels)
Lyman (UV)

Lyα 2-1 1215.7 A

Lyβ 3-1 1025.7 A

Lyγ 4-1 972.53 A

...

limit infinity-1 911.5 A

Balmer (visible)

Hα 3-2 6562.8 A

Hβ 4-2 4861.3 A

Hγ 5-2 4340.5 A

...

limit infinity-2 3646.0 A

The energies in atoms are usually expressed in

electron volts (eV).
• 1 eV = 1.6 x 10-19 J
For instance, the energy difference between
n=2 and n=1 in H is 10.2 eV.
Since E = hc/λ, λ = 1216 Ang
 Spectral Classification of Stars

Harvard Classification System

In 1890, Edward Pickering and Williamina Fleming made a first attempt at

spectral classification:

Sorted stars by decreasing Hydrogen absorption-line strength

Spectral Type "A" = strongest Hydrogen lines
followed by types B, C, D, etc. (weaker)
 Spectral Classification of Stars

Cannon Classification

In 1901, Annie Jump Cannon noticed that stellar temperature was the principal
distinguishing feature among different spectra.

Re-ordered the ABC types by temperature instead of Hydrogen absorption-line

strength.

Most classes were thrown out as redundant.

Left with the 7 primary classes we recognize today, in the order:

OBAFGKM
 Spectral Classification of Stars

If the surface of a star is as cool as the surface of the Sun (about 5800 K) or
cooler, most of the atoms are in the ground state. This means that, although
stars like the Sun have a lot of hydrogen in their atmospheres, very little of
their hydrogen atoms have electrons in the second energy level (most
electrons are in the first energy level, which is the ground state). Without
electrons in the second level, very little Balmer radiation is produced. So,
cool stars have very weak Balmer lines.

In very hot stars (like O stars which have surface temperatures of around
20,000 K), almost all of the hydrogen is either ionized (which means it has
lost its electrons completely) or has electrons in only very high energy levels.
Again, there are very few hydrogen atoms with electrons in the second
energy level, so the Balmer lines of these stars are weak.
 Spectral Classification of Stars

However, in A Type stars (surface temperature about 10,000 K), most of the
hydrogen atoms have electrons in the second energy level. These stars,
therefore, have very strong hydrogen lines.
 Spectral Classification of Stars

Henry Draper Catalog of Stars

Annie Cannon further refined the spectral classification system by dividing each
class into numbered ten subclasses.

For example, type A is subdivided into: A0 A1 A2 A3 ... A9

A0 being the hottest and A9 being the coolest within Spectral Type A.

Between 1911 and 1924, she applied this Harvard Classification scheme to about
220,000 stars, published as the Henry Draper Catalog.
L = 4πR2σT4
Helium Ions

All elements can be ionized by removing one or more electrons. The example of helium is shown
below.

Suffix Meaning Examples

I neutral He I, O I
II once ionized He II, O II
III twice ionized He III, O III
IV three times ionized O IV, Ne IV
O; 28,000-50,000 K; ionized atoms, especially helium
B; 10,000-28,000 K; neutral helium, some hydrogren
A; 7,500-10,000 K; strong hydrogen, some ionized metals
F; 6,000-7,500 K; hydrogen and ionized metals, such as calcium and iron
G; 5,000-6,000 K; ionized calcium and both neutral and ionized metals
K; 3,500-5,000 K; neutral metals
M; 2,500-3,500 K; strong molecules, e.g., titanium oxide and some neutral
calcium
 Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

In 1905, Danish astronomer Einar Hertzsprung, and independently American astronomer Henry
Norris Russell, noticed that the luminosity of stars decreased from spectral type O to M.

They developed the technique of plotting absolute magnitude for a star versus its spectral type to
look for families of stellar type.
 Spectral Classification of Stars

Modern M-K System

In 1943, William Morgan (Chicago) and Phillip Keenan (Ohio State) added
Luminosity as a second classification parameter.

Luminosity Classes are designated by the Roman numerals I thru V, in

order of decreasing luminosity:

Ia = Bright Supergiants
Ib = Supergiants Sun: G2v
II = Bright Giants Betelgeuse: M2I
III = Giants Rigel: B8I
IV = Subgiants Sirius: A1v
V = Dwarfs Aldebaran: K5III
 Spectral Classification of Stars

The giants, supergiants, and white dwarfs can all be distinguished

spectroscopically even if their distances and hence luminosities are not known.
The line profiles change shape depending on the surface gravity of the star.

If one compares spectral

lines from low pressure gas
and high pressure gas, one
finds that the high pressure
gas produces broader
spectral lines.

This is because the atoms in

the gas at high pressure (and
thus denser) have a larger
collision rate and thus
available energy levels for
absorption of photons.
 Spectral Classification of Stars

For stars of comparable temperatures,

those with higher surface gravities will
have higher pressures and vice-versa.

Dwarfs have relatively high surface

gravities and thus broader spectral lines,
while the outer layers of supergiants are
least dense and have narrow absorption
lines
These spectra come from stars with
the same T but P increasing
downwards in the plot
 Finer Spectral Classification

Main Class: O, B, A, …

Sub-Class: O1-O9
B1-B9
A1-A9
……..

Luminosity Class: I – V
 MASS

SIZE

BRIGHTNESS

TEMPERATURE
 The Main-Sequence

The important properties are:

• The Main Sequence is a Mass Sequence:

1. Massive stars are hotter and brighter.
2. Low-mass stars are cooler and fainter.

• Main Sequence Lifetime depends on Mass:

1. Massive stars have short M-S lifetimes

2. Low-mass stars have long M-S lifetimes.

• Low-Mass stars take longer to form.

 The Main-Sequence

p-p chain reaction

The Main-Sequence
 The Main-Sequence

• Main Sequence Lifetime depends on Mass:

1. Massive stars have short M-S lifetimes

2. Low-mass stars have long M-S lifetimes.

Assignment:

Calculate nuclear time scales of main sequence stars of 5 and 10 solar masses.

Hint : Use the following relation together with the Mass-luminosity relation:
Stellar Clusters

The Milky Way

Star Formation (Numerical Simulations)
Stellar Clusters
Open Clusters: When a cluster is young, the brightest members are O, B and A stars. Young clusters in
our Galaxy are called open clusters due to their loose appearance. They usually contain between 100
and 1,000 members. Example : Pleiades

Globular Clusters: Early in the formation of our Galaxy, very large, globular clusters formed from giant molecular
clouds. Each contain over 10,000 members, appear very compact and have the oldest stars in the Universe.
Example : M92
 H-R Diagrams of Star Clusters

When stars are born they develop from large clouds of molecular gas.

This means that they form in groups or clusters, since molecular clouds are composed
of hundreds of solar masses of material.

After the remnant gas is heated and blown away, the stars collect together by gravity.
During the exchange of energy between the stars, some stars reach escape velocity
from the proto-cluster and become runaway stars.

The rest become gravitationally bound, meaning they will exist as collection
orbiting each other forever.
Since all the stars in a cluster formed at the same time, they are all the same age.

Observations of star clusters consist of performing photometry on many individual stars in a cluster.

Each star is plotted by its color and magnitude on the HR diagram. Shown below is one such diagram for the
globular cluster M13.

Note that the main sequence only exists

for low mass G, K and M stars.

All stars bluer than the turn-off point

have exhausted their hydrogen fuel and
evolved into red giants millions and
billions of years ago.

Also visible is a clear red giant branch

and a post-red giant phase region, the
horizontal branch.
As a cluster ages:

• Start with high-mass stars on the M-S, and low-mass stars still approaching.

• High mass run out of hydrogen in their cores first, evolving off into supergiants.

• As successively lower mass stars run out of hydrogen in their cores, they too evolve off.
Effect is that stars peel off the Main-Sequence from the top (high-mass end) down as the
cluster ages.

Main-Sequence Turn-off
Point where the Main-Sequence "turns off" towards giant stars.

• As cluster ages, the stars at the turn-off are lower mass

• Low mass stars have redder colors.

• Color of the turn-off is an indicator of the cluster age:

• Older Clusters have redder turn-off points.

Plotting various star cluster HR diagrams together gives the following plot
Understanding the changes in the lifetime of a main
sequence star is a simple matter of nuclear physics,
where we can calibrate the turn-off points for various
clusters to give their ages.

This, then, provides a tool to understand how our

Galaxy formed, by mapping the positions and
characteristics of star clusters with known ages.

When this is done it is found that old clusters form a

halo around our Galaxy, young clusters are found in the
arms of our spiral galaxy near regions of gas and dust.
Reference Books

Modern Astrophysics – Carrol & Ostlie

Astronomy – Zeilik

Fundamental Astronomy – Kartunnen et al.

Physical Universe – Frank Shu

IGNOU Course PHE-15