Magnitude means brightness. Absolute magnitude tells us how bright a star is. What is the brightness of a blue star in the upper left corner of a H-R Diagram?

3 answers

In the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram, which plots stars based on their absolute magnitude (brightness) against their temperature (color or spectral type), blue stars are typically found in the upper left portion of the diagram.

Blue stars are very hot and massive, and they usually have high absolute magnitudes, indicating that they are very bright. The absolute magnitude of a blue supergiant star, for example, can range from about -5 to -12 or even brighter, depending on the specific type of star. In general, the upper left area of the H-R diagram features stars that are several times more luminous than the Sun, often exceeding 10,000 times the Sun's brightness.

To summarize, a blue star in the upper left corner of the H-R diagram would have a high absolute magnitude (very bright), typically significantly less than zero, reflecting its status as a hot and luminous stellar object.

10 to 5
10 to 5

-15 to -20
-15 to -20

0 to -5
0 to -5

20 to 15

It looks like you may be providing ranges of values, potentially related to brightness, luminosity, or some categorization such as stellar absolute magnitudes. Here’s how to interpret those ranges, particularly with regard to stars:

  1. 10 to 5: This range doesn’t fit typical absolute magnitude values, as absolute magnitudes for bright stars are usually negative or low positive numbers.

  2. -15 to -20: This range corresponds to extremely luminous stars, such as some of the brightest supergiants. These stars are found in the upper left portion of the H-R diagram and can be significantly more luminous than the Sun.

  3. 0 to -5: This range includes bright stars and some main-sequence stars. Absolute magnitudes here could include some of the brightest stars in our sky, such as A-type or late O-type stars.

  4. 20 to 15: This range appears to be for much fainter stars, as absolute magnitudes of 15 to 20 are typical for Main Sequence stars that are less luminous than the Sun or for stars at the end of their life cycles, such as white dwarfs.

Please clarify or specify if these ranges are meant to represent something specific (like stellar classes, luminosity, or used in a certain context), so I can assist you better!