In the early part of this century, two astronomers, one Danish and one American, invented a diagram showing the basic characteristics of stars. The purpose of this homework is to give you some familiarity with the diagram. In addition, you will be asked to investigate the types of biases in mesurement used to construct this diagram.
Biases are especially important in understanding astronomical data.
Unlike laboratory sciences, astronomical experiments must be conducted under the conditions the Universe gives us. Since the astronomer has no direct control over the experiment, it is imperative that he or she understand the prejudices introduced into the data by the human perspective. However, biases of measurement are found in many other fields of science. An example of a biased study would be to find the weight vs. age relation for all Americans by weighing only members of health clubs. Most active health club members tend to be lighter than the average, and so the average derived would be lower than the true average weight of Americans.