An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A classification of stellar spectra according to luminosity for a given → spectral type. The luminosity class is an indication of a star’s → surface gravity. It is shown by a Roman numeral as follows: I (→ supergiants), II (bright → giants), III (normal giants), IV (→ subgiants), and V (→ dwarf stars,
or → main-sequence stars).
Luminosity classes VI (→ subdwarfs) and VII (→ white dwarfs) are rarely used. Subclasses a, b, and c are especially used for supergiants, while the most luminous → hypergiants are assigned luminosity class Ia-0.

See also: → luminosity; → class.