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Spectroscopy

Meanwhile, looking at the spectrum of light from a star can tell us (a) how hot it is [recall the blackbody spectrum] and (b) what sort of atoms are in its "chromosphere" [the hot surface that we see]. Finally, the sheer brightness of the star (combined with a knowledge of its distance and temperature ) tells us how big it is.


Jess H. Brewer - Last modified: Mon Nov 23 15:38:00 PST 2015