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stars2.ega
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1992-09-28
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673b
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Stars are huge self-luminous spheres of gas fueled by
thermonuclear fires at their cores. Although all stars have the
same basic composition, they differ individually in color,
temperature, mass, diameter and age. These characteristics can
be directly related to the stellar "spectrum", the rainbow of
colors produced when starlight passes through a prism or
diffraction grating. Astronomers place stars into different
Spectral Classes based on the appearance of these spectra. The
basic spectral classes and the associated star colors are
designated "O" (Violet), "B" (Blue), "A" (White), "F"
(Yellow-White), "G" (Yellow), "K" (Orange) and "M" (Red).