List of Different Star Types
Blue Stars
-Spectral Type: O, B
-Life Cycle: On the main sequence
-Prevalence: ~0.00003%
-Typical temperature: ~30,000K
-Typical luminosity: ~100 to ~1,000,000
-Typical radius: ~2.7 to ~10
-Typical mass: ~2.5 to ~90
-Typical age: < ~40 million years
Examples of blue stars include 10 Lacertae, AE Aurigae, Delta Circini, V560 Carinae, Mu Columbae, Sigma Orionis, Theta1 Orionis C, Zeta Ophiuchi.
Blue Stars Properties
Blue stars are typically hot, O-type stars that are commonly found in active star-forming regions, particularly in the arms of spiral galaxies, where their light illuminates surrounding dust and gas clouds making these areas typically appear blue. Blue stars are also often found in complex multi-star systems, where their evolution is much more difficult to predict due to the phenomenon of mass transfer between stars, as well as the possibility of different stars in the system ending their lives as supernovas at different times.
Red Dwarfs
-Spectral Type: K, M
-Life Cycle: Early main sequence
-Prevalence: ~73%
-Typical Temperature: = ~4,000K
-Typical Luminosity: ~0.0001 to ~0.08
-Typical Radius: = ~0.7
-Typical Mass: ~0.08 to ~0.45
-Typical Age: Undetermined, but expected to be several trillion years
Examples of red dwarf stars include Proxima Centauri, TRAPPIST-1.
Properties
Red dwarfs account for the bulk of the Milky Ways’ stellar population, but since they are very faint, no red dwarf stars are visible without optical aid. Typically, red dwarf stars that are more massive than 0.35 solar masses are fully convective, which means that the process of converting hydrogen into helium occurs throughout the star, and not only in the core, as is the case with more massive stars.
In this way, the nuclear fusion process is slowed down and at the same time greatly prolonged, which keeps the star at a constant luminosity and temperature for several trillion years. In fact, the process of nuclear synthesis happens so slowly in these that the Universe is not old enough for any known red dwarf star to have aged into an advanced state of evolution.
