Analysis of Results from Volumes 1 - 4 of the Michigan Spectral Catalogue

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The classification of stars according to their optical spectra is an important and time honored part of astronomical research. The spectra give information about the stars' temperatures, compositions, evolutionary stages, absolute brightnesses, and distances. Much of what we know about stellar evolution and Galactic dynamics is based on the information contained in spectral catalogues of stars. The Principal Investigator (PI) proposes to continue with her work, currently funded by NSF, on the two-dimensional classification of stars from Harvard's Henry Draper (HD) Catalogue. To date, 130,000 stars have been classified and their spectral types published under the title Michigan Spectral Catalogue. In the current proposal, the PI intends to classify stars for Volume 5 of the catalogue, all of which lie in the Southern Hemisphere; and to start the classification of stars for Volume 6. Undergraduate and graduate students will participate, though the crucial task of classifying the stars according to their spectra will be done exclusively by the PI in order to maintain uniformity.