Astronomical spectroscopy

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The Star-Spectroscope of the Lick Observatory in 1898. Designed by James Keeler and constructed by John
Brashear.

Astronomical spectroscopy is the study of astronomy using the techniques

of spectroscopy to measure the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, including visible
light and radio, which radiates from stars and other celestial objects. A stellar
spectrum can reveal many properties of stars, such as their chemical composition,
temperature, density, mass, distance, luminosity, and relative motion using Doppler
shift measurements. Spectroscopy is also used to study the physical properties of many
other types of celestial objects such as planets, nebulae, galaxies, and active galactic
nuclei.

Contents

 1Background
o 1.1Optical spectroscopy
o 1.2Radio spectroscopy
 1.2.1Radio interferometry
o 1.3X-ray spectroscopy
 2Stars and their properties
o 2.1Chemical properties
o 2.2Temperature and size
 3Galaxies
 4Interstellar medium
o 4.1Gaseous emission nebulae
o 4.2Complex molecules
 5Motion in the universe
o 5.1Doppler effect and redshift
o 5.2Peculiar motion
 o 5.3Binary stars
 6Planets, asteroids, and comets
o 6.1Planets
o 6.2Asteroids
o 6.3Comets
 7See also
 8References

Background[edit]

Electromagnetic transmittance, or opacity, of the Earth's atmosphere

Astronomical spectroscopy is used to measure three major bands of radiation: visible

spectrum, radio, and X-ray. While all spectroscopy looks at specific areas of the
spectrum, different methods are required to acquire the signal depending on the
frequency. Ozone (O3) and molecular oxygen (O2) absorb light with wavelengths under
300 nm, meaning that X-ray and ultraviolet spectroscopy require the use of a satellite
telescope or rocket mounted detectors.[1]:27 Radio signals have much longer wavelengths
than optical signals, and require the use of antennas or radio dishes. Infrared light is
absorbed by atmospheric water and carbon dioxide, so while the equipment is similar to
that used in optical spectroscopy, satellites are required to record much of the infrared
spectrum.[2]
Optical spectroscopy[edit]

Incident light reflects at the same angle (black lines), but a small portion of the light is refracted as coloured
light (red and blue lines).

Physicists have been looking at the solar spectrum since Isaac Newton first used a
simple prism to observe the refractive properties of light. [3] In the early 1800s Joseph von
Fraunhofer used his skills as a glass maker to create very pure prisms, which allowed
him to observe 574 dark lines in a seemingly continuous spectrum. [4] Soon after this, he
combined telescope and prism to observe the spectrum of Venus, the Moon, Mars, and
various stars such as Betelgeuse; his company continued to manufacture and sell high-
quality refracting telescopes based on his original designs until its closure in 1884. [5]:28–29
The resolution of a prism is limited by its size; a larger prism will provide a more detailed
spectrum, but the increase in mass makes it unsuitable for highly detailed work. [6] This
issue was resolved in the early 1900s with the development of high-quality reflection
gratings by J.S. Plaskett at the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa, Canada.[5]:11 Light
striking a mirror will reflect at the same angle, however a small portion of the light will be
refracted at a different angle; this is dependent upon the indices of refraction of the
materials and the wavelength of the light. [7] By creating a "blazed" grating which utilizes
a large number of parallel mirrors, the small portion of light can be focused and
visualized. These new spectroscopes were more detailed than a prism, required less
light, and could be focused on a specific region of the spectrum by tilting the grating. [6]
The limitation to a blazed grating is the width of the mirrors, which can only be ground a
finite amount before focus is lost; the maximum is around 1000 lines/mm. In order to
overcome this limitation holographic gratings were developed. Volume phase
holographic gratings use a thin film of dichromated gelatin on a glass surface, which is
subsequently exposed to a wave pattern created by an interferometer. This wave
pattern sets up a reflection pattern similar to the blazed gratings but utilizing Bragg
diffraction, a process where the angle of reflection is dependent on the arrangement of
the atoms in the gelatin. The holographic gratings can have up to 6000 lines/mm and
can be up to twice as efficient in collecting light as blazed gratings. Because they are
sealed between two sheets of glass, the holographic gratings are very versatile,
potentially lasting decades before needing replacement. [8]
Light dispersed by the grating or prism in a spectrograph can be recorded by a detector.
Historically, photographic plates were widely used to record spectra until electronic
detectors were developed, and today optical spectrographs most often employ charge-
coupled devices (CCDs). The wavelength scale of a spectrum can be calibrated by
observing the spectrum of emission lines of known wavelength from a gas-discharge
lamp. The flux scale of a spectrum can be calibrated as a function of wavelength by
comparison with an observation of a standard star with corrections for atmospheric
absorption of light; this is known as spectrophotometry.[9]
Radio spectroscopy[edit]
Radio astronomy was founded with the work of Karl Jansky in the early 1930s, while
working for Bell Labs. He built a radio antenna to look at potential sources of
interference for transatlantic radio transmissions. One of the sources of noise
discovered came not from Earth, but from the center of the Milky Way, in the
constellation Sagittarius.[10] In 1942, JS Hey captured the sun's radio frequency using
military radar receivers.[1]:26 Radio spectroscopy started with the discovery of the 21-
centimeter H I line in 1951.
Radio interferometry[edit]
Radio interferometry was pioneered in 1946, when Joseph Lade Pawsey, Ruby Payne-
Scott and Lindsay McCready used a single antenna atop a sea cliff to observe 200 MHz
solar radiation. Two incident beams, one directly from the sun and the other reflected
from the sea surface, generated the necessary interference. [11] The fi