Glossary term: Spectral Type
Description: Stars are classified according to the appearance of lines in their spectrum. The spectral type is based primarily on the temperature of the stellar surface. The present notation is a legacy from the first modern classification attempt, undertaken at Harvard College Observatory. The classes originally designated A–Q, alphabetically, were subsequently reordered as a temperature sequence, resulting in the main types still used today: O, B, A, F, G, K, and M, listed in order of decreasing surface temperature. The main spectral classes are subdivided, denoted by the numbers from 0 to 9. The Sun is spectral type G2. Additional letters refer to special characteristics (such as e for stars with bright emission lines), and the luminosity class, denoted by Roman numerals, may also be specified.
Related Terms:- A-type star
- B- type Star
- F-type Star
- K-type Star
- Spectrum
- Star
- Sun
- G-type star
- M-type star
- O-type Star
- Luminosity class
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Term and definition status: This term and its definition is still awaiting approval
The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".
