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Stars

Author: Nathan Lampson

The night sky is full of stars.  Though they might look similar on earth, stars are very different from each other.  Some stars are hotter and larger than others - and might even be a different color. In order to classify stars, astronomers use a scale with the categories O, B, A, F, G, K, and M.  

Stars that are classified with the letter O are the largest type of stars, they tend to produce blue wavelengths of light. A class stars are smaller than O class stars and produce white light. G class stars are smaller than O class stars and produce yellow light. K class stars produce orange light and M stars are the smallest of all, producing red light.

Scientists have a good enough understanding of stars that they can determine what their chemical composition is. By looking at the wavelengths of light that are produced by a star, scientists can determine what elements it is made of. The machine that collects the wavelengths of light produced by a star is called a spectrograph.

This image is an example of a spectrum analysis.