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binary stars
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two stars that revolve about each other
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brown dwarf
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an object intermediate in size between a planet and a star; the approximate mass range is from about 1/100 of the mass of the Sun up to the lower mass limit for self-sustaining nuclear reactions, which is about 1/12 the mass of the Sun
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eclipsing binary
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a binary star in which the plane of revolution of the two stars is nearly edge-on to our line of sight, so that the light of one star is periodically diminished by the other passing in front of it
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H–R diagram
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(Hertzsprung–Russell diagram) a plot of luminosity against surface temperature (or spectral type) for a group of stars
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main sequence
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a sequence of stars on the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, containing the majority of stars, that runs diagonally from the upper left to the lower right
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mass-luminosity relation
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the observed relation between the masses and luminosities of many (90% of all) stars
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selection effect
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the selection of sample data in a nonrandom way, causing the sample data to be unrepresentative of the entire data set
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spectroscopic binary
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a binary star in which the components are not resolved but whose binary nature is indicated by periodic variations in radial velocity, indicating orbital motion
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visual binary
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a binary star in which the two components are telescopically resolved
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white dwarf
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a low-mass star that has exhausted most or all of its nuclear fuel and has collapsed to a very small size; such a star is near its final state of life