Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
The area under discussion here lies beyond the domain of the MK system and includes studies of natural groups as detected in low dispersion studies; it extends to spectral regions studied now in the far ultraviolet and in the infrared and radio regions; in this paper primary consideration is given to optical spectra from the near infrared to the near ultraviolet. We give a description of “natural groups” and a brief description of new possibilities opened for research in this area through the introduction of thin prisms and the combination of prism and grating (GRISM). Finally a summary of spectral criteria useable outside the MK domain is presented.