Spectra of stars
Observation and analysis of the light coming from a star
is the only way we have to determine the properties of the star. We can in fact find out a
surprising amount of information about stars simply by the analysis of their spectra. A simple
version of the type of stellar spectrum that you might observe is shown in Figure 1.
You can see that the spectrum is
basically a continuous spectrum from violet to red but it is covered with many fine dark lines.
These are absorption lines and in a real stellar spectrum there would be many hundreds of
these spread across the whole spectrum. A black and white version of the spectrum of Sirius
is shown below.
(Photograph taken by Villanova University)
By looking at the spectrum of a star astronomers can determine:
(a) the temperature
of the star
(b) the velocity of the star along a line joining the star to the Earth
(c) the
composition of the star
(a) the temperature of the star can be found by measuring the
variation in intensity across the spectrum. M. When the wavelength of the peak intensity is
found the temperature can be calculated using Wein's law.
(See: 16-
19/Thermal physics/Transfer of heat/Text/Infra red and energy distribution)(b) by comparing
the absorption lines due to a certain element with the emission lines of the same element
produced in the laboratory the shift of the lines can be measure. Knowing the shift of the
lines the velocity of recession can be found using the equations for the Doppler
effect.
(See: 16-19/Wave properties/Doppler effect/Text/Doppler effect)
(c) the chemical composition of the star can be determined by looking at the
absorption lines in the spectrum. These lines correspond to the emission lines of particular
elements in the star.
Spectral classification
The spectra of stars are
classified into a number of types first proposed by a group of astronomers, notably
E.C.Pickering, at Harvard in about 1900. They gave each type of star a letter shown in the
following list:
O B A F G K M R N S
This list ranges from very hot O type
stars to 'cool' M type stars. Types R, N and S are less common but are included for
completeness. O and B stars are bluish white and M stars reddish in appearance from the
Earth.
There is a very good mnemonic for remembering this series;
O
Be
A Fine
Girl
Kiss
Me
Right
Now
Sweetheart!
Examples of the spectra of stars of different types are given in the following photograph. A series of absorption lines can be seen crossing each spectrum.
Photography courtesy of: Courtney Seligman (for further information visit:
http://cseligman.com/text/stars/stellarproperties.htm)
The following table gives a brief description the properties of
the MAIN spectral classes.
| Spectral class |
Surface temperature (K) |
Significant features |
| O |
>20 000 |
Helium ions |
| B |
10 000 - 20 000 |
Atoms of helium and hydrogen |
| A |
7000 - 10 000 |
Hydrogen atoms (Balmer series of spectral lines appear).
Calcium, magnesium and silicon ions |
| F |
6000 - 7000 |
Calcium ions. Iron and sodium atoms and ions |
| G |
5000 - 6000 |
Calcium ions (Ca II) strong. Other metallic lines |
| K |
3500 - 5000 |
Neutral metal atoms and some molecular bands appearing. |
| M |
2000 - 3500 |
Molecular bands such as titanium oxide (TiO) and metal atoms. |
These broad classes of stars are divided into a more
detailed classification with each main section being split into at least ten subdivisions.
Therefore our Sun is a G type star but lies between the K and F types but nearer to the K
and is therefore known as type G2.
The next table gives some examples of stars of
different types.
| Star |
Spectral class |
|
Star |
Spectral class |
| Sirius |
A1 |
|
Capella |
G6 |
| Vega |
A0 |
|
Aldebaran |
K5 |
| Rigel |
B8 |
|
Arcturus |
K1 |
| Procyon |
F5 |
|
Betelguese |
M2 |
Luminosity of stars
Within each
spectral class some stars will be larger and therefore brighter than others. The larger stars
will generally have narrower spectral lines because of the reduced pressures in their outer
atmosphere. (See later in the section on the broadening of spectral lines)
These extra
classifications are shown below.
I Supergiants
II Bright giants
III
Giants
IV Subgiants
V Main sequence dwarfs
VI Sub
dwarfs
VII White dwarfs
Note: If the star is variable in brightness a V appears in the
classification.
Betelguese is a red supergiant and so is classified as M2I.
