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HR Diagram

HR Diagram and Star Clusters

Result of a parent molecular gas cloud (Stellar Birthplace) collapsing into a group of stars found in the same region of space. Due to this common origin, clusters are almost ideal laboratories for the study of stellar life sequences. Being born in of the same material, the properties defining these stars are tightly contained as opposed to studying stars of different birth origins. This allows theoretical models of star formation and evolution to be compared to actual processes

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Previous lessons have outlined stellar evolution to Helium fusion. The lifecycle after Helium fusion depends on a star’s mass. The image to the right shows the varying layers of fusion that a star can attain depending on its mass.

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