main sequence
Americannoun
noun
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The continuous, generally diagonal line or band in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram ranging from the upper left to the lower right and representing stars of average size whose luminosities correspond predictably to their surface temperatures. Stars in this grouping maintain a stable nuclear reaction and experience only small fluctuations in luminosity and temperature. Main-sequence stars are believed to be in the stable, middle phase of their development; they are expected to move off the main sequence once the hydrogen in their core is exhausted. At that point, depending on its size, a main-sequence star will become a giant star, a supergiant star, or a white dwarf. The more massive the star, the faster it burns its nuclear fuel and the shorter it remains in the main sequence.
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See more at Hertzsprung-Russell diagram star
Etymology
Origin of main sequence
First recorded in 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Other investors included Australia’s Main Sequence and European strategic angel investors.
Main Sequence led that raise and contributed about $1.5 million, partner Mike Zimmerman said.
EX Hydrae exists in a binary system alongside a normal main sequence star.
From Science Daily
An international research team led by Kristina Kislyakova, Senior Scientist at the Department of Astrophysics of the University of Vienna, has detected for the first time the X-ray emission from the astrospheres around three sun-like stars, so called main sequence stars which are stars in the prime of their life, and has thus recorded such winds for the first time directly, allowing them to place constraints on the mass loss rate of the stars via their stellar winds.
From Science Daily
They result from the explosive pairing between a normal type of star — for example, a main sequence furnace like Earth’s sun or an elephantine red giant — and a white dwarf, a smoldering stellar core left behind after a star’s demise.
From New York Times
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
