spectral type

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noun Astronomy.

a category for classifying a star, as A star or G star, according to features of its spectrum, as its shape as a function of temperature and wavelength and its absorption spectrum, that indicate the surface temperature of the star and the presence of particular atoms or molecules in its outer layers: principal types are spectral types O, B, A, F, G, K, and M.

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Also called spectral class .

Origin of spectral type

First recorded in 1920–25

Words nearby spectral type

spectra, spectral, spectral line, spectral luminous efficiency, spectral series, spectral type, spectra yellow, spectre, spectrin, spectro-, spectrobolometer

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

How to use spectral type in a sentence

In the new study, Hsu’s team analyzed 172 red and brown dwarfs of different spectral types, classifications based on the objects’ spectra that correlate with their surface temperatures.
Here’s how cool a star can be and still achieve lasting success|Ken Croswell|August 23, 2021|Science News
Morey set to work at once with the telescope; trying to find the nearest star of spectral type G-0, as had been agreed upon.
Islands of Space|John W Campbell
As to the spectral type, the stars with great proper motions are all yellow or red stars.
Lectures on Stellar Statistics|Carl Vilhelm Ludvig Charlier
We can therefore for each spectral type compute the mean values and the dispersion of these attributes.
Lectures on Stellar Statistics|Carl Vilhelm Ludvig Charlier

On the distances and luminosities of stars of spectral type G as derived from their proper motions.
Lectures on Stellar Statistics|Carl Vilhelm Ludvig Charlier
But even more remarkable is the connection between spectral type and speed of motion.
Astronomy|David Todd

British Dictionary definitions for spectral type

spectral type

spectral class

noun

any of various groups into which stars are classified according to characteristic spectral lines and bands. The most important classification (Harvard classification) has a series of classes O, B, A, F, G, K, M, the series also being a scale of diminishing surface temperature

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 spectral type

spectral type

A classification system for stars based on the strength of their spectral lines, using the letters O, B, A, F, G, K, M, L, and T to denote a range from blue (as in blue giant stars) to dim red (as in brown dwarfs). The spectrum of a star correlates with its surface temperature, ranging from over 60,000°K (O type) to less than 3,500°K (L and T types). See also Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.