The nearby stars are of all ages, which gives them
\n\t\t\t\ta broad variety of luminosities and colors.\u00a0 To see stars of the
\n\t\t\t\tsame age, to see the effects of mass and composition alone on
\n\t\t\t\ta star's color and luminosity, one must examine star clusters.
\n\t\t\t\tAll of the stars in a star cluster are born at about same time.
\n\t\t\t\tThe open clusters scattered in the Galactic disk provide us with
\n\t\t\t\tcollections of young stars.\u00a0 The ancient globular clusters that
\n\t\t\t\tswarm around the Galactic center provide us with collections of
\n\t\t\t\told stars.\u00a0 By creating Herzsprung-Russell diagrams for both types
\n\t\t\t\tof star cluster\u2014plots of the colors and luminosities of
\n\t\t\t\tstars\u2014astrophysicists gain insight into how stars, especially
\n\t\t\t\tstars more massive than the Sun, change over billions of years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The nearby stars are of all ages, which gives them a broad variety of luminosities and colors.\u00a0 To see stars of the same age, to see the effects of mass and composition alone on a star's color and luminosity, one … Continue reading