At a stellar core temperature of 18 million kelvin, the PP process and CNO cycle are equally efficient, and each type generates half of the star's net luminosity. As this is the core temperature of a star with about , the upper main sequence consists of stars above this mass. Thus, roughly speaking, stars of spectral class F or cooler belong to the lower main sequence, while A-type stars or hotter are upper main-sequence stars. The transition in primary energy production from one form to the other spans a range difference of less than a single solar mass. In the Sun, a one solar-mass star, only 1.5% of the energy is generated by the CNO cycle. By contrast, stars with or above generate almost their entire energy output through the CNO cycle.
At a stellar core temperature of 18 million kelvin the PP process and CNO cycle are equally efficient and each type generates half of the star's net luminosity As this is the core temperature of a star with about  the upper main sequence consists of stars above this mass Thus roughly speaking stars of spectral class F or cooler belong to the lower main sequence while A-type stars or hotter are upper main-sequence stars The transition in primary energy production from one form to the other spans a range difference of less than a single solar mass In the Sun a one solar-mass star only 15% of the energy is generated by the CNO cycle By contrast stars with or above generate almost their entire energy output through the CNO cycle