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Isochrone

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

  • 196 Accesses

Definition

Isochrones are theoretical tracks in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HRD) defining the position occupied by stars of a given age. Isochrones are used to determine the age of a stellar population, typically a star cluster: on an isochrone, the smaller mass stars may still lie on the main sequence, while the higher mass stars have already left the main sequence to become red giants. The determination of the mass of the stars that are precisely at the turnoff from the main sequence gives the age of the cluster.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Observatoire astronomique de l’Université de Genève, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Genève, 51, ch. des Maillettes – Sauverny, CH 1290, Versoix, Switzerland

    Sylvia Ekström

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  1. Sylvia Ekström
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Correspondence to Sylvia Ekström .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Ekström, S. (2014). Isochrone. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_817-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_817-4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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