The Hertzsprung Russel diagram relates the magnitude or brightness of stars to their spectral classes or temperatures Describe the

technological advances that have made it possible to add astrophysical data to the H-R diagram, and explain how this data contributes to our understanding of stellar evolution. Modern telescopes have greater sensitivity and resolution than previous ones so they are better, and gather more data that can be included in the H-R diagram. The technological advances that have improves telescopes include active optics, a process by which the primary mirror of the telescope is made of segments on a flexible rubber backing, controlled by a computer. Every few seconds the computer checks for any distortion of the mirror because of its weight, since the mirror sags slightly by different amounts depending on the direction it is pointing, and this has allowed the use of mirrors with a far greater diameter. These allow astronomers to observe more stars more clearly, increasing the amount of data on the H-R diagram, and improving its accuracy. The adaptive optics process also uses a segmented mirror, to adjust for the turbulence of the atmosphere. In this instance the computer tests the incoming light from a reference star hundreds of times every second, adjusting the segments to straighten out the received signal to counter the continual variations in scattering and refraction of the atmosphere, again improving the sensitivity and resolution of the telescope, to allow more stars to be observed, and measured more precisely. Interferometry is a process by which the data received from a celestial object by a number of linked optical or radio telescopes is combined by a computer to produce a single image. The diameter of the combined telescope is that of the separation of the individual mirrors, so this greatly increases their resolution, along with the sensitivity (dependent upon the total area of the individual mirrors) However, all the effects of the atmosphere can be avoided by launching telescopes into space. Such devices are able to capture wavelengths that cannot reach the ground (gamma rays, xyars, infra red etc) so stars undergoing evolutionary steps, such as protostars and neutron stars can be seen, providing information previously unavailable to use\. In addition, the visible light received by the Hubble Space telescope, which is unaffected by any of the problems caused by the atmosphere, is of such clarity that Red Giants and White dwarfs can be identified, even in globular clusters, providing substantial evidence about the evolution of stars. Furthermore, having a telescope in space gives the added advantage of almost 24 hours of observation every day. With so much new data, and with every new measurement helping to support what the H-R diagram related about stars, we have more and more statistical evidence to confirm that in due course stars will leaves the Main Sequence (where the oridnary stars are found) evolving to become Red Giants, and a few will become supergiants. Some time after they die, most forming White Dwarfs. [Some stars will supernova, and later become neutron stars, possible black holes, but this data cannot be plotted on the H-R diagram] It is also seen that the hotter, brighter, bluer types evolve far more rapidly than cooler, dimmer, redder ones.