Evidence that Stars are Made of Atoms

We all have seen stars shimmering in the night sky, but many of us do not realize what

they are comprised of. Astronomers have concluded that stars are made up of atoms. The

evidence supporting this comes from the atomic model, quantum mechanics, and nuclear

physics.

The first piece of evidence we need to understand to prove that stars are made of

atoms is the atomic model. The atomic model encapsulates the basic understanding of an

atom. Atoms consist of three subatomic particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons. The

atoms nucleus is comprised of protons and neutrons while the electrons orbit around it. The

electrons stay in orbit around the nucleus because of its electric charge. Protons have a positive

charge while electrons have a negative charge. Since their charges are opposite this causes

them to attract to each other, making the electron orbit.

The next piece of evidence that supports that stars are made up of atoms comes from

quantum mechanics. In simple terms, quantum mechanics describes how all the particles that

make up an atom work. Electrons can only emit or absorb a photon. When an electron emits a

photon, it becomes less energetic and when it absorbs a photon it becomes more energetic.

Depending on the energy level of the atom, it can only absorb or emit certain energy photons.

Quantum mechanics tells us that because electrons have different energy levels, they will either

accept low or high energy photons. Now that we have discussed quantum mechanics let’s apply

these concepts to a spectrometer. When light passes through the spectrometer, we can see all

the colors. However, if hydrogen atoms were to be between the light coming in and the
spectrometer, then the hydrogen atoms will absorb certain photons. When the photons are

absorbed, they will not appear on the spectrum. Instead, black lines will appear, these lines are

called “spectral lines”.

The final piece of evidence that explains why stars are composed of atoms can be

provided from nuclear physics. Since there are many different types of atoms, they all have

different masses and charges. With the different mass and charge of each nucleus means that

each atom will also have different set of energy levels. This allows scientists to distinguish each

one individually. The different energy levels of atoms are what creates the distinguishable types

of light. The different energy levels absorb different energy photons which in turn is what

creates the different dark lines on a spectrometer known as spectral lines. We use these

different spectral lines to help us identify the different atoms in stars. The light we see from

stars is being produced by the interactions of the atoms inside the star. When looking at the

light produced from stars through a spectrometer, we can distinguish the light being seen is

from a hydrogen atom. We know this because the spectral lines are in the exact same place as a

hydrogen atom here on earth. Thus, we can identify the different atoms in stars by observing

the light coming from the stars.

In conclusion, when you combine all three pieces of evidence, we can see that stars are

made of atoms. The atomic model gives us the understanding of what atoms are made of.

Quantum mechanics gives us the understanding of why these atoms have different energy

levels. The understanding of nuclear physics allows us to know that the interaction of atoms

inside the star is producing the light we see. We can then identify this light as specific types of
atoms through a spectrometer by observing the spectral lines. This brings us to the conclusion

that stars are made of atoms.