What’s the H-R Diagram All About?

Congratulations on reaching the 50% completion point in this course! What degree are you working toward? What is your progress in accomplishing your educational goals and what courses are you starting next month? Why did you choose these courses? (Note: please don’t forget to do the main part of this week’s discussion below.)

The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is an incredibly useful device for learning about populations of stars. However, sometimes students can get confused by it, thinking that the diagram represents stars moving through space. There are a number of web sites (some with animations) that can help you visualize what the H-R diagram can be used for. Here’s one to get you started:

Star Life Cycle

Your task for this week’s discussion board is to find another site that explains some aspect of the H-R diagram (or, it can just be a site that explains some part of stellar evolution). Post the link. Then, explain something about the H-R diagram and/or stellar evolution that this site helped you learn and/or that you find interesting.