Specifically, it was the physics of blackbody radiation that enabled us to understand the variation of stellar colors. Shortly after blackbody radiation was understood, it was noticed that the spectra of stars look extremely similar to blackbody radiation curves of various temperatures, ranging from a few thousand Kelvin to ~50,000 Kelvin. The obvious conclusion is that stars are similar to blackbodies, and that the color variation of stars is a direct consequence of their surface temperatures.
En concreto, foi a física da radicación dos corpos negros a que nos permitiu comprender a variación das cores das estrelas. Pouco despois de terse comprendido a radiación dos corpos negros, percibiuse que os espectros das estrelas eran extremadamente semellantes ás curvas de radiación dos corpos negros de varias temperaturas, desde uns poucos de miles de graos Kelvin até aproximadamente 50. 000. A conclusión obvia foi que as estrelas son semellantes aos corpos negros e que a variación na cor das estrelas é unha consecuencia directa das temperaturas da súa superficie.