Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

[ hairt-sproong-ruhs-uhl ]

/ ˈhɛərt sprʊŋˈrʌs əl /

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noun Astronomy.

the graph showing the absolute magnitude plotted against the surface temperature for a group of stars.

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Also called H-R diagram.

Origin of Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

After Danish astronomer Ejnar Hertzsprung (1873–1967) and H. N. Russell, who compiled the data on which it is based

Words nearby Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

hertz, Hertz effect, Hertzian wave, Hertzog, Hertzsprung, Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, Herzberg, Herzegovina, Herzen, Herzl, Herzog

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Hertzsprung-Russell diagram in a sentence

The city of Cleveland recently reached a $3 million settlement with the Russell and Williams families.
The Cleveland Cops Who Fired 137 Shots and Cried Victim|Michael Daly|December 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now, Thorne is out with a new diagram-heavy, 300-page book detailing how he shaped the science that powers the movie.
Meet Kip Thorne, the Man Who Crafted the Artful Science of ‘Interstellar’|Asawin Suebsaeng|November 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That hers could be a scene in a David O. Russell film brings it to the next level.
[NSFW] Fox News Anchor Tragically Mispronounces "Huckabee"|Jack Holmes, The Daily Beast Video|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ken Russell, the now sadly deceased British film director, told me he considered Jarman a visionary.
The Queer Genius of Film Director Derek Jarman|Tim Teeman|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Moderator Jan Jarboe Russell, an author and writer for Texas Monthly, asked Rep. Castro whether politics was in his blood.
Live from San Antonio: Women in the World Texas!|Women in the World|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the diagram the horizontal arrows represent such mere banking operations, not true circulation.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
Odd differences, reflecting differences of intelligence, show themselves in the management of this diagram of the human face.
Children's Ways|James Sully
Can any of your correspondents inform me where the virtuous and patriotic William Lord Russell was buried?
Notes and Queries, Number 196, July 30, 1853|Various
But at this instant some boys hearing the quarrel ran up, and Russell among them.
Eric, or Little by Little|Frederic W. Farrar
But Eric was too nervous to be present at the hour when this was usually done, and he had asked Russell to bring him the news.
Eric, or Little by Little|Frederic W. Farrar

British Dictionary definitions for Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

/ (ˈhɜːtssprʌŋˈrʌsəl) /

noun

a graph in which the spectral types of stars are plotted against their absolute magnitudes. Stars fall into different groupings in different parts of the graphSee also main sequence

Word Origin for Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

C20: named after Ejnar Hertzsprung and Henry Norris Russell

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

A graph in which the absolute magnitude (intrinsic luminosity) of stars is plotted vertically against their surface temperatures (or corresponding spectral types). The diagram shows a strong correlation between luminosity and surface temperature among the average-size stars known as dwarfs, with hot, blue stars having the highest luminosities and relatively cool, red stars having the lowest. The roughly diagonal line (running from the upper left of the diagram to the lower right) that shows this correlation is called the main sequence. Giant and supergiant stars have relatively high luminosities for their surface temperatures and are positioned on the diagram above the main sequence. The faint white dwarfs have relatively low luminosities for their surface temperatures and cluster below the main sequence. See more at main sequence.