What is the relationship between a main-sequence star’s mass and its position on the H-R diagram?
Answer
More massive stars are hotter and more luminous, residing in the upper-left
For stars actively fusing hydrogen on the main sequence, their mass directly maps to their coordinates on the H-R diagram. Higher mass results in greater gravitational forces compressing the core, leading to higher temperatures and thus higher luminosity. This results in these massive stars being plotted in the upper-left region, characterized by being both hotter and far more luminous. Conversely, the least massive main-sequence stars are found in the lower-right section, being the coolest and dimmest.
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