Blue giant

In astronomy, a blue giant is a hot star with a luminosity class of III (giant) or II (bright giant). In the standard Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, these stars lie above and to the right of the main sequence.

The term applies to a variety of stars in different phases of development, all evolved stars that have moved from the main sequence but have little else in common, so blue giant simply refers to stars in a particular region of the HR diagram rather than a specific type of star. They are much rarer than red giants, because they only develop from more massive and less common stars, and because they have short lives in the blue giant stage.

The name blue giant is often misapplied to other high-mass luminous stars, such as main-sequence stars, simply because they are large and hot.

Properties

Blue giant is not a strictly defined term and it is applied to a wide variety of different types of stars. What they have in common is: a moderate increase in size and luminosity compared to main-sequence stars of the same mass or temperature, and are hot enough to be called blue, meaning spectral class O, B, and sometimes early A. They have temperatures from around 10,000 K upwards, ZAMS masses greater than about twice the Sun (M_☉), and absolute magnitudes around 0 or brighter. These stars are only 5–10 times the radius of the Sun (R_☉), compared to red giants which are up to 100 R_☉.

Blue giant (disambiguation)

A blue giant is a hot star with a luminosity class of III (giant) or II (bright giant).

Blue giant may also refer to:

See also

Blue Giant (band)

Blue Giant is an American rock band from Portland, Oregon. An eclectic mix of country, indie rock, and psychedelic styles, Blue Giant have been called a Portland supergroup. The band was originally composed of the songwriters and musicians from Viva Voce, Kevin Robinson and Anita Robinson, Chris Funk of The Decemberists, Evan Railton of Swords, and Seth Lorinczi of The Golden Bears, Circus Lupus & The Quails. Musically, Blue Giant could be characterized as rural psychedelic rock, with one music critic calling them a perfect country rock band.

History

After touring extensively in 2007 with The Shins and Jimmy Eat World, Kevin and Anita Robinson of Viva Voce took a brief hiatus. Tiring of the confines of a two-piece band, they began writing songs they considered for another band. Evan Railton of Swords was asked to play drums. Seth Lorinczi of The Golden Bears & Circus Lupus was invited to play bass. Last to join on pedal steel was Chris Funk of The Decemberists, who, upon hearing the band's early demos, demanded to join the band. Infused with their own respective indie-rock, punk and DIY backgrounds, the Blue Giant songs reflect a greater part of the Robinson's Southern heritage.