5.2: Understanding Stars

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Page ID: 55231

Robert Wagner
HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College

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This section examines how astronomers determine the physical properties of stars from the light they observe. It explores stellar brightness, color, and spectra and shows how these observations can reveal properties such as temperature, composition, motion, and size. These characteristics are brought together in the H-R diagram, an important tool for comparing stars and recognizing patterns among stellar populations.

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