Main sequence stars

 Fuse hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms in their cores. About 90 percent of the stars in the universe, including
the sun, are main sequence stars. These stars can range from about a tenth of the mass of the sun to up to 200
times as massive.
 A main sequence star is any star that is fusing hydrogen in its core and has a stable balance of outward pressure
from core nuclear fusion and gravitational forces pushing inward.
 Main sequence stars are stars, like our Sun, that fuse hydrogen atoms together to make helium atoms in their
cores. For a given chemical composition and stellar age, a stars' luminosity, the total energy radiated by the star per
unit time, depends only on its mass. Stars that are ten times more massive than the Sun are over a thousand times
more luminous than the Sun. However, we should not be too embarrassed by the Sun's low luminosity: it is ten
times brighter than a star half its mass. The more massive a main sequence star, the brighter and bluer it is. For
example, Sirius, the dog star, located to the lower left of the constellation Orion, is more massive than the Sun, and
is noticeably bluer. On the other hand, Proxima Centauri, our nearest neighbor, is less massive than the Sun, and is
thus redder and less luminous.
 Since stars have a limited supply of hydrogen in their cores, they have a limited lifetime as main sequence stars.
This lifetime is proportional to f M / L, where f is the fraction of the total mass of the star, M, available for nuclear
burning in the core and L is the average luminosity of the star during its main sequence lifetime. Because of the
strong dependence of luminosity on mass, stellar lifetimes depend sensitively on mass. Thus, it is fortunate that our
Sun is not more massive than it is since high mass stars rapidly exhaust their core hydrogen supply. Once a star
exhausts its core hydrogen supply, the star becomes redder, larger, and more luminous: it becomes a red giant star.
This relationship between mass and lifetime enables astronomers to put a lower limit on the age of the universe.

Temperature
 At a stellar core temperature of 18 million Kelvin, the PP process and CNO cycle are equally efficient, and each type
generates half of the star's net luminosity. As this is the core temperature of a star with about 1.5 M ☉, the upper
main sequence consists of stars above this mass.

Formation and Evolution

 When a protostar is formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud of gas and dust in the local interstellar
medium, the initial composition is homogeneous throughout, consisting of about 70% hydrogen, 28% helium and
trace amounts of other elements, by mass. The initial mass of the star depends on the local conditions within the
cloud. (The mass distribution of newly formed stars is described empirically by the initial mass function.) During the
initial collapse, this pre-main-sequence star generates energy through gravitational contraction. Upon reaching a
suitable density, energy generation is begun at the core using an exothermic nuclear fusion process that converts
hydrogen into helium.
 When nuclear fusion of hydrogen becomes the dominant energy production process and the excess energy gained
from gravitational contraction has been lost, the star lies along a curve on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (or HR
diagram) called the standard main sequence. Astronomers will sometimes refer to this stage as "zero age main
sequence", or ZAMS. The ZAMS curve can be calculated using computer models of stellar properties at the point
when stars begin hydrogen fusion. From this point, the brightness and surface temperature of stars typically
increase with age.
 A star remains near its initial position on the main sequence until a significant amount of hydrogen in the core has
been consumed, then begins to evolve into a more luminous star. (On the HR diagram, the evolving star moves up
and to the right of the main sequence.) Thus the main sequence represents the primary hydrogen-burning stage of
a star's lifetime.

Lifespan of a Main Sequence star

 The Sun, a G-type star with a main sequence lifetime of ~ 10 billion years, is currently 5 billion years old – about
half way through its main sequence lifetime
Properties
 The majority of stars on a typical HR diagram lie along the main-sequence curve. This line is pronounced because
both the spectral type and the luminosity depend only on a star's mass, at least to zeroth-order approximation, as
long as it is fusing hydrogen at its core—and that is what almost all stars spend most of their "active" lives doing.
 The temperature of a star determines its spectral type via its effect on the physical properties of plasma in its
photosphere. A star's energy emission as a function of wavelength is influenced by both its temperature and
composition. A key indicator of this energy distribution is given by the color index, B − V, which measures the star's
magnitude in blue (B) and green-yellow (V) light by means of filters. This difference in magnitude provides a
measure of a star's temperature.

Subdwarf sometimes denoted by "sd", is a star with luminosity class VI under the Yerkes spectral classification system.
They are defined as stars with luminosity 1.5 to 2 magnitudes lower than that of main-sequence stars of the same
spectral type. On an Hertzsprung–Russell diagram subdwarfs appear to lie below the main sequence.

The term "subdwarf" was coined by Gerard Kuiper in 1939, to refer to a series of stars with anomalous spectra that
were previously labeled as "intermediate white dwarfs".

Cool subdwarfs
Like ordinary main-sequence stars, cool subdwarfs (of spectral types G to M) produce their energy from hydrogen
fusion. The explanation of their underluminosity lies in their low metallicity: these stars are unenriched in elements
heavier than helium. The lower metallicity decreases the opacity of their outer layers and decreases the radiation
pressure, resulting in a smaller, hotter star for a given mass. This lower opacity also allows them to emit a higher
percentage of ultraviolet light for the same spectral type relative to a Population I star, a feature known as the
ultraviolet excess. Usually members of the Milky Way's halo, they frequently have high space velocities relative to the
Sun.

Hot subdwarfs
Hot subdwarfs, of spectral types O and B, also termed "extreme horizontal-branch stars" are an entirely different class
of objects to cool subdwarfs. These stars represent a late stage in the evolution of some stars, caused when a red giant
star loses its outer hydrogen layers before the core begins to fuse helium. The reasons why this premature mass loss
occurs are unclear, but the interaction of stars in a binary star system is thought to be one of the main mechanisms.
Single subdwarfs may be the result of a merger of two white dwarfs or gravitational influence from substellar
companions. B-type subdwarfs, being more luminous than white dwarfs, are a significant component in the hot star
population of old stellar systems, such as globular clusters and elliptical galaxies.

Example of a Main Sequence Stars

1. Lambda Boötis also named Xuange, is a star in the northern constellation of Boötes. Based on parallax
measurements, it is approximately 99 light-years from the Sun. Lambda Boötis is a white A-type main sequence
dwarf with an apparent magnitude of +4.18. It is the prototype of a group of rare stars known as Lambda Boötis
stars, all of which are dwarf stars with unusually low abundances of metals in their spectra. Its diameter has been
directly measured to be 1.7 times that of the Sun.
2. Aldebaran, also designated α Tauri is a red giant star located about 65 light-years from the Sun in the zodiac
constellation Taurus. It is the brightest star in Taurus and generally the fourteenth-brightest star in the night sky,
though it varies slowly in brightness between magnitude 0.75 and 0.95. The planetary exploration probe Pioneer 10
is currently heading in the general direction of the star and should make its closest approach in about two million
years. Aldebaran hosts a planet several times the size of Jupiter, named Aldebaran b.
3. Epsilon Carinae also named Avior, is a binary star in the southern constellation of Carina. At apparent magnitude
+1.86 it is one of the brightest stars in the night sky, but is not visible from the northern hemisphere. The False
Cross is an asterism formed of Delta Velorum, Kappa Velorum, Iota Carinae and ε Carinae. It is so called because it
is sometimes mistaken for the Southern Cross, causing errors in astronavigation. Epsilon Carinae is located roughly
560–660 light-years from the Sun. Measurements during the Hipparcos mission give the pair an angular separation
of 0.46 arc seconds with a difference in magnitude of 2.0. At their estimated distance, this angle is equivalent to a
physical separation of around 4 astronomical units. This pair may form an eclipsing binary system with a period of
 785 days (2.15 years), resulting in a magnitude change of 0.12 during each eclipse. The primary component has an
apparent visual magnitude of 2.2, which by itself would still make it the third-brightest star in the constellation. It is
an evolved giant star with a stellar classification of K0 III. However, examination of the ultraviolet flux from this star
suggests it may instead be of spectral type K7. The fainter secondary companion has an apparent visual magnitude
of 4.1, which, if it were a solitary star, would be bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. This is a hot, core
hydrogen-fusing B-type main sequence star of spectral class B2 Vp. The secondary may itself have an orbiting
stellar companion of spectral class F8.
4. Alpha Ursae Majoris also called Dubhe despite being designated "α" (alpha), the second-brightest object in the
constellation of Ursa Major.
5. The Pistol Star is a blue hypergiant star; one of the most luminous known in the Milky Way. It is one of many
massive young stars in the Quintuplet cluster in the Galactic Center region. The star owes its name to the shape of
the Pistol Nebula, which it illuminates. It is located approximately 25,000 light years from Earth in the direction of
Sagittarius. It would be visible to the naked eye as a fourth magnitude star if it were not for the interstellar dust
that completely hides it from view in visible light. The Pistol Star was discovered using the Hubble Space Telescope
in the early 1990s by Don Figer, an astronomer at UCLA.

Subdwarf Examples
 Kapteyn's Star is a class M1 red subdwarf about 12.76 light years from Earth in the southern constellation Pictor; it
is the closest halo star to the Solar System. With a magnitude of nearly 9 it is visible through binoculars or a
telescope. Its diameter is 30% of the Sun's, but its luminosity just 1.2% that of the Sun's. It may have once been
part of the globular cluster Omega Centauri, itself a likely dwarf galaxy swallowed up by the Milky Way in the
distant past. The discovery of two planets — Kapteyn b and Kapteyn c — was announced in 2014.
 Groombridge 1830 (also known as 1830 Groombridge or Argelander's Star) is a star in the constellation Ursa Major.
It is a yellow-hued class G8 subdwarf catalogued by British astronomer Stephen Groombridge with the
Groombridge Transit Circle between 1806 and the 1830s and published posthumously in his star catalog, Catalogue
of Circumpolar Stars (1838). Its high proper motion was noted by Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander in 1842.
 Mu Cassiopeiae (μ Cassiopeiae, abbreviated μ Cas) is a binary star system in the constellation Cassiopeia. This
system shares the name Marfak with Theta Cassiopeiae, and the name was from Al Marfik or Al Mirfaq (‫)المرفق‬,
meaning "the elbow". Mu Cassiopeiae is given as a standard star for the spectral class G5Vb, although it is
frequently described as a subdwarf, meaning it has a luminosity below that expected for a G5 main sequence star.
 2MASS 0532+8246 (full designation 2MASS J05325346+8246465) is possibly the first brown dwarf observed in the
galactic halo of the Milky Way, and the first known substellar subdwarf star. It was discovered from Two Micron All-
Sky Survey data, and verified by observations at Palomar Observatory and W. M. Keck Observatory. It has a low
metallicity, which indicates it is an old star.[2] With an age of 12.5 billion years, it is the oldest known brown dwarf
star.
 SSSPM J1549-3544 is a star in the constellation Lupus with high proper motion. It was initially found to have high
proper motion in a 2003 survey of images taken by the optical SuperCOSMOS Sky Surveys and by the near-infrared
sky surveys 2MASS and DENIS. It was then thought to be a cool white dwarf close to the Sun. However, more
detailed spectroscopic observations in 2005 appear to show that it is not a white dwarf, but a high-velocity halo
metal-poor subdwarf.