Sounds like a naughty blog but actually that's an mnemonic for the classical stellar sequence. Type O stars are the brash hot young stars with plenty of energy to burn; Type M's are the burnt-out elders who have lived long and are running low on fuel. In the middle we find the average stars with the typical responsibilities of middle age - providing for the family of planets orbiting them. Our Sun is a G2V star and perhaps not coincidentally, it emits the brightest part of its light in the exact same range that our human eyes are sensitive to.
Anyway I have been playing with the spectroscope recently and a couple of weeks ago I was able to obtain data from a representative star in each class of the spectral sequence. These are low-resolution spectra, about 4.3 Angstroms per pixel, but they clearly show an interesting evolution of absorption line features and shifts in peak wavelengths as you move along the sequence.
I was fortunate to be able to share the results of this project at the TAAA meeting this evening. To view my presentation in slide format, click here. This spectroscopy stuff is sure a lot of fun, and I have some big plans for it in the future.
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