Light and stars Flashcards
includes gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared
radiation, microwaves, and radio waves.
Electromagnetic radiation
the arrangement of electromagnetic radiation according to wavelength.
electromagnetic spectrum
a small packet of light energy.
photon
the study of the properties of light that
depend on wavelength.
spectroscopy
an uninterrupted band
of light emitted by an incandescent solid, liquid, or gas under pressure.
continuous spectrum
a continuous spectrum produced when white light passes through a cool gas under low pressure. The gas absorbs selected wavelengths of light, and the
spectrum looks like it has dark lines
superimposed.
Absorption spectrum
s a series of bright lines
of particular wavelengths produced by a hot gas under low pressure.
emission spectrum
“FINGERPRINTS” lines
identify the elements present and thus the star’s chemical composition.
SPECTRAL LINES
the apparent change in
frequency of electromagnetic or sound waves caused by the relative motions of the source and
the observer.
Doppler effect
used to determine whether a star or other body in space is moving away from or toward Earth.
Doppler effect
a telescope that uses a
lens to bend or refract light
refracting telescope
produces an image
by bending light from a distant object so that the light converges at an area
focus
a telescope that reflects
light off a concave mirror, focusing the image in front of the mirror
reflecting telescope
a telescope designed to
make observations in radio wavelengths.
radio telescope
orbit above Earth’s atmosphere and thus
produce clearer images than Earth-based
telescopes.
space telescope
first space telescope, built by NASA
HUBBLE space telescope
telescope that study X-rays
Chandra X-Ray Observatory
used to study both visible light and gamma rays.
Compton Gamma- Ray Observatory
study infrared radiation.
James Webb Space Telescope
the region of the sun that
radiates energy to space, or the visible surface of the sun.
Photosphere
