Astronomy › Section P · Stars from adolescence to old age › Topic P.3
Checking stellar evolution against clusters
Computer models make bold predictions about how stars change over millions and billions of years. Star clusters let astronomers check them: plot a cluster's stars on an H-R diagram, and the pattern should match the models for a single age.
In this topic
- Turning theory into a test
- A cluster only a few million years old
- The main-sequence turnoff
- Worked example: an age from the turnoff
- Gaps and giants
- Old clusters and globular clusters
- Worked example: comparing two clusters
- Checks, puzzles and fixes
- What the fits tell us
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
This topic is part of Wuanberri Pro. Checking your access…