Editing Main sequence (section)

== Dwarf terminology ==
Main-sequence stars are called dwarf stars,<ref name=smith91/><ref name=powell06/> but this terminology is partly historical and can be somewhat confusing. For the cooler stars, dwarfs such as [[red dwarf]]s, [[orange dwarf]]s, and [[yellow dwarf star|yellow dwarf]]s are indeed much smaller and dimmer than other stars of those colors. However, for hotter blue and white stars, the difference in size and brightness between so-called "dwarf" stars that are on the main sequence and so-called "giant" stars that are not, becomes smaller. For the hottest stars the difference is not directly observable and for these stars, the terms "dwarf" and "giant" refer to differences in [[spectral line]]s which indicate whether a star is on or off the main sequence. Nevertheless, very hot main-sequence stars are still sometimes called dwarfs, even though they have roughly the same size and brightness as the "giant" stars of that temperature.<ref name=moore06/>

The common use of "dwarf" to mean the main sequence is confusing in another way because there are dwarf stars that are not main-sequence stars. For example, a [[white dwarf]] is the dead core left over after a star has shed its outer layers, and is much smaller than a main-sequence star, roughly the size of [[Earth]]. These represent the final evolutionary stage of many main-sequence stars.<ref name=wd_sao/>