Timeline for Does the associated colour of a spectral class (red and class M, for example) come from the peak black body radiation of stars in that class?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
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| Jan 23, 2018 at 21:59 | comment | added | Pancake_Senpai | I think I've just been too hung up on the exact colour descriptions, and haven't taken into account how general they are. The peak wavelength of the Sun is green, which is a whole lot closer to yellow than it is to blue. The colour description of G class stars therefore applies to the Sun, as the colours for spectral classes are very general. As for why the colour of F class stars is white, I guess it's just that most of those stars generally tend to be white, as opposed to a red or blue giant (for example). Would you say that this is correct? | |
| Jan 23, 2018 at 21:54 | comment | added | Sean E. Lake | @Pancake_Senpai "chromaticity" is a fancy way of saying "ratio of fluxes relative to some standard". Notice how there are two different "chromaticity" columns in their table that have different values for the sun? How can the stars have two different apparent colors? As I said in the post, there's a continuum from red through orange and white to blue in the star's observed, physical, color. | |
| Jan 23, 2018 at 21:34 | comment | added | Pancake_Senpai | This Wikepedia page (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_classification) says the colour attached to each spectral class is its chromaticity, so that would mean that these colours do in fact refer to the colours of stars, and not a ratio of light. If these colours are really nothing more than an attempt to make the spectral classes more memorable, then that would mean they are completely meaningless, which I would struggle to believe. | |
| Jan 23, 2018 at 20:35 | comment | added | Sean E. Lake | $\mathrm{G}$ stars are considered "yellow" because our sun is a $\mathrm{G}$ star and is considered "yellow" for the reason I described. Other than it, it's a convenient (if slightly misleading) way to remember the sequence of temperatures. 7 spectral classes (for main sequence stars, anyway), "7" colors of the rainbow. Also, keep in mind that when an astronomer says "color" they don't mean "what you see", they mean a ratio of light observed by two different filters (frequently, $B$ and $V$). | |
| Jan 23, 2018 at 20:19 | comment | added | Pancake_Senpai | Thank you for your answer. I understand what you have written, but I am still confused as to why each class has an associated colour. Why are G stars considered to be yellow, for example? | |
| Jan 23, 2018 at 20:09 | history | edited | Sean E. Lake | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Add orange note.
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| Jan 23, 2018 at 20:03 | history | answered | Sean E. Lake | CC BY-SA 3.0 |