Name: ___________________________________________ Period: ________ Date: ______________

The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

1) How can we measure the distance to distant stars (up to 80 light years away)?


diagram:





2) What can you find if you know a stars distance and its apparent magnitude?




3) Luminosity is directly related to a stars _______________________.

A bigger star will be _____________________, while a small star with be ____________________.

4) Most of the bright stars we see in the sky are either very ________________________

or very __________________________.

5) _________________________ are the most common type of star. There are billions and

billions of these, which are simply too ____________________ to see.

6) Stellar size: Size of the Sun or smaller ____________________ (common)
10 100X the size of the Sun ____________________ (rare)
100 1,000X the size of the Sun ______________________ (extremely rare)

7) How can we tell how hot a star is?
A.


B. Red = ___________________________

White = __________________________

Blue = ___________________________


8) The H-R diagram is used to plot __________________________ vs. __________________________.

9) List the spectral classes below, from hottest to coolest temperature:


Stellar Magnitude Data


Directions: Use the absolute magnitude and spectral class to plot the position of each of these stars on the
H-R diagram. The stars have been divided into two separate groups, but you will need to plot them all.
(Apparent magnitude is given for your information, but will not be needed for the diagram. Any star with
an apparent magnitude greater than 6 is not visible with the naked eye.)




Stars name
Apparent
Magnitude
Absolute
Magnitude
Spectral
Class
Sun *
Proxima Centauri
Alpha Centauri A
Alpha Centauri B
Bernards Star
Wolf 359 *
Lalande
Sirius A
Sirius B
Luyten A
Luyten B
Ross 154
Ross 258
Epailon Eridani
Luyden C
Ross L23
Cygni A
Cygni B
Epsilen Indi
Procyon A
Procyon B *
Cincinnati A
Cincinnati B
Groombridge A
Groombridge B
Lacaille
Gau Cari
Luystens Star
Laytan D
Lacille B
Kaptayns Star
Krugar A
Krugar B
-26.7
11.0
0.0
1.4
9.5
13.5
7.5
-1.4
7.2
12.5
13.0
10.6
12.2
3.7
12.2
11.1
5.2
6.0
4.7
0.4
10.3
8.9
9.7
8.1
11.0
7.4
3.5
9.8
11.6
6.7
8.8
9.7
11.2
4.8
15.4
4.4
5.8
13.2
16.7
10.5
1.5
10.1
15.3
15.9
13.3
14.7
6.1
14.6
13.5
7.5
8.3
7.0
2.7
13.1
11.2
12.0
10.4
13.3
9.6
5.7
11.9
13.7
5.8
10.8
11.7
13.2
G2
M5
G2
K5
M5
M6
M2
A1
B1
M6
M6
M5
M6
K2
M6
M5
K5
K7
K5
F1
B2
M4
M4
M1
M6
M2
G8
M4
M5
M1
M0
M4
K5

Stars name
Apparent
Magnitude
Absolute
Magnitude
Spectral
Class
Canopus
Arcturus
Vega
Capella
Rigel
Betelgeuse
Achemar
Altair
Aldebaran
Antares *
Spica *
Pollux
Fomalhault
Deneb
Regulus
Castor
-0.7
-.01
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.4
0.5
0.8
0.9
0.9
0.9
1.2
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.8
-4.0
-0.3
0.5
-0.6
-4.0
-4.5
-3.0
-5.5
-0.7
-3.0
-2.0
1.0
2.0
2.0
-0.6
0.9
F0
K2
A0
G2
B5
K2
B5
G1
K5
M1
B1
K0
A3
A2
B7
A7
Group 1:
The Nearest Stars
Group 2:
The Brightest Stars (as seen from Earth)
* On your H-R Diagram, only label the names of the stars marked with an asterisk.
Name: ____________________________________________ Period: ________ Date: ______________

H-R Diagram Analysis

1) Stars with an absolute magnitude from -1 to -5 are considered supergiants. How many supergiants
are on your diagram? ______
2) B stars between absolute magnitude 10 and 14 are called white dwarfs. How many of these are on
your diagram? ______
3) How many G2 stars are on your diagram? ______
4) Using your data sheet, name the star that is putting out the most energy: ____________
5) Which spectral class stars are the most common (O, B, A, F, G, K, M)? ______
6) Why do you think there are more of these class stars than any others?

7) On your diagram, if you disregard the red giants, red supergiants, and white dwarfs, a pattern of
normal or Main Sequence stars emerges. Describe what this pattern looks like:

8) In the Main Sequence, where is the Sun located?

9) Which star has the brightest apparent magnitude? ____________
10) If all the stars on your data sheet were placed the same distance from the Sun, which star would
appear the brightest? ____________
11) According to your diagram, which spectral class star is the rarest (O,B, A, F, K, M)? ______
12) How many G-class stars are on your diagram? ______
13) Once the Sun leaves the Main Sequence, where will it move on the diagram?

14) Out of the stars Vega, Antares, and Regulus, which star appears brightest? ____________
15) Which is actually giving off the most light? ____________
16) Which spectral class lives the longest? ______
17) Explain why stars with high absolute magnitudes have short lifespan:

18) What color stars are hottest? ____________
19) What color stars are coolest? ____________
20) If you had our choice of the kind of star your planet was orbiting around, what type of star would you
choose, and why?