What is Astronomy

“astron” = star
“nomos” = law

Astronomy is the science of stars and clusters of stars,

galaxies and clusters of galaxies, planets, “dwarf planets”
and their satellites, asteroids and comets, interstellar gas
and dust (and anything else in the Universe).
Peering through the Universe: Time Machine
 Autumn (Fall) Sky

In autumn evening, you will see the

Pointers in the Big Dipper—the two end Almost an equal distance on the other
stars—point upward toward Polaris side of Polaris is a “W”-shaped
constellation named Cassiopeia
 Autumn (Fall) Sky

Constellation Andromeda. M31 is Andromeda

Galaxy. Nearest Galexy, 2.4 million LY

In Greek mythology, Andromeda was

Cassiopeia’s daughter
 Autumn (Fall) Sky

Southwest in the sky from Andromeda,

but still high overhead, are four stars Moving southeast from Cassiopeia, along the Milky
that appear to make a square known as Way, we come to the constellation Perseus
the Great Square of Pegasus
 Autumn (Fall) Sky

Along the Milky Way in the other direction from Cassiopeia (whose “W” is relatively easy to
find), we come to a cross of bright stars directly overhead. This “Northern Cross”
 Winter Sky

This “Northern Cross” is

the part of constellation
cygnus

In the early evening on January 1, Cygnus is setting in the western sky,

while Cassiopeia and Perseus are overhead.
Winter Sky
North

In the early evening on January 1, Cygnus is

setting in the western sky, while Cassiopeia and
Perseus are overhead.
 Winter Sky

near Perseus, we can now see a group of six stars

close together in the sky, it is the Pleiades
 Winter Sky

Orion is warding off

Taurus, the Bull, whose
head is marked by a large
“V” of stars. A

Farther toward the east, rising earlier every evening, is the constellation Orion
 Winter Sky
Orion is warding off
Taurus, the Bull, whose
head is marked by a large
“V” of stars. A

Rising after Orion is Sirius, the

brightest star in the sky, It is part
of the constellation Canis Major,
the Big Dog.

Orion Nebula

Farther toward the east, rising earlier every evening, is the constellation Orion
Winter Sky

Orion Nebula
 Winter Sky

Canis major
Spring Sky and Summer Sky

Read in the book

Planet: The Earth

13,000 kilometers across

 Star: The Sun

150 million kilometers away

1.4 million kilometers across
The Solar System

150 billion km
 Speed of light
How much is a light sec? 8
𝑐 ≈ 3.0× 10 𝑚/ 𝑠

How much is a light min?

How much is a light year?

Lecture 3
Chapter 2
How do we see the things that are not accessible to us?
When we look at the sky, we are looking at light.
Which is EM radiation.

ROY G BIV

Some of the light is blocked

by atmosphere

Most of the EM radiation is invisible

 Understanding light
Photoelectric effect

Every wave is characterized by frequency and wavelength.

y(t)

1
𝑓=
𝑇

𝑣 =𝜆 𝑓
𝐸=h𝑓
All EM radiation has same velocity which is represented by:
8
𝑐 ≈ 3.0× 10 𝑚/ 𝑠
𝑐= 𝜆 𝑓
 R
Understanding light
𝜆
O Q1. What is the frequency of violet light of
wavelength 400 nm?
𝜆
Y Q2. If the lowest and highest visible
wavelengths are 380 nm and 740 nm find the
𝜆 range in frequency.
The wavelength ranges in
G average 400 to 700 nm
Q3. If one photon has 10 times the frequency
𝜆
of another photon, which photon is the more
B 8
𝑐 ≈ 3.0× 10 𝑚/ 𝑠 energetic, and by what factor?
𝑐= 𝜆 𝑓
𝜆
I
c constant, longer wavelength will
𝜆
have high frequency

V 𝐸=h𝑓
𝜆 Higher frequency will have higher energy
Arabia Black Drace
 Black body Radiation
A body which absorbs all incident radiation. It is a perfect absorber.
Stephen Boltzmann’s Law
𝑃
=𝜎 𝑇 4
𝐴

Q1. A star is same size a ours. It radiates 81 times more

power than our sun. What is its surface temperature?

Q2. How many times hotter than the Sun’s surface is

the surface of a star the same size, but that gives off
twice the Sun’s energy per second (that is, is twice as
luminous)?

Q3. Compare the luminosity (amount of energy

It emits radiation based on its temperature. This emission is given off per second) of the Sun with that of a star
called blackbody radiation or thermal radiation. the same size but three times hotter at its surface.
(b) Answer the same question, but now assume the
star also has twice the Sun’s radius
 Blackbody radiation
• A perfect absorber of light is a blackbody.
• A blackbody is also a perfect emitter.
• The emission spectrum of a blackbody is continuous and
depends on temperature.
Temperature and brightness

As T increases, the wavelength for peak brightness

decreases (i.e. shifts toward the violet and ultraviolet
wavelenghs).
As T increases, the brightness increases.

The Power emitted per unit surface area of black body is

proportional to fourth power of its absolute temperature.
Eb = σT4
Where,
σ = Stefan Boltzmann Constant
= 5.67x10-8 W/m2k4
 Black body Radiation

Winn’s Law
𝜆 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑇 =0.29 𝑐𝑚𝐾

Q1. Find the temperature of our sun’s surface its is

measured to be ~ 500 nm.
𝜆 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑇 =0.29 𝑐𝑚𝐾

5800 K
Black body Radiation

Planets don’t have their own light. They reflects

the light falls on them.

They have definite temperature. They also reflect

infra red radiation.
 How hot is the Sun? Compare it to black body
Q1. Following is the emission radiation distribution of
human body. What is the mean temperature of
human body?
Q2. Following is the emission radiation distribution of
human body. What is the mean temperature of human
body?
𝜆 𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑇 =0.29 𝑐𝑚𝐾

−2
0.29 𝑐𝑚𝐾 0.29 ×10
𝑇= =
𝜆 𝑚𝑎𝑥 9550 ×10
−9

Q2. Consider a black body whose temperature is 3 K. At what

wavelength does its spectrum peak?

Q3. Suppose the peak of a particular star’s spectrum occurs at about 6000 Å.
(a) Use Wien’s law to calculate the star’s surface temperature.
(b) If this star were a factor of four hotter, at what wavelength would its spectrum peak? In what part of the
electromagnetic spectrum is this peak?
Are the colors continuous?

In the early 1800s, when

Joseph Fraunhofer
looked in detail at the
spectrum of the Sun, he
noticed that the
continuous range of
colors in the Sun’s light
was crossed by dark
gaps
What are the stars made up of?
The Sun’s spectrum
• Basically continuous, but with
dark absorption lines
• is the Sun solid?
• No, Gaseous ball
• The Sun is a dense gas (about
1.3 times as dense as water)
• does the Sun have an
atmosphere?
• yes, of cooler gas, to create
absorption lines
• Colour of Sun tells us its
temperature
• so do absorption lines, because
strength of lines for given
element depends on
temperature (though position
does not)
• Lines tell us about chemical
composition
• as well as temperature and
density
Secrets of Missing colors
 Bohr’s Atomic Model

• When an atom absorbs a photon, it gains energy.

• When an atom loses energy, it emits a photon.
• An atom can only absorb photons or emit photons of just the
right energy.
• Those “right energies” correspond to the DIFFERENCES in
energy between the allowed energy levels.

Hydrogen spectra

• only certain energies are allowed

• the change in the energy between

two levels corresponds to a certain
color photon absorbed or emitted by
the atom
• the lowest energy level is the ground
state
• higher energy levels are called
excited states
Modern view of hydrogen
 Absorption

• If light of a continuous spectrum is incident on a gas of hydrogen atoms, then electrons will absorb some of
the light.
• As a result, bands of the spectrum are missing; these are called absorption lines.
• By the way, these same atoms emit the same colors in an emission spectrum.
What is the Sun made of?

Hydrogen and helium

form strong lines.

The Sun is in fact

71% H, 27% He, 2%
everything else, ALL
VALUES BY MASS
 2.3 What Are Those Missing Colors and
Where Are They? What is the Sun made of?

Each element
Comparing the produces a specificofset
relative strengths of absorption
these (and
sets of lines, we emission)
can studylines.
the
composition of gases.

Most abundant elements

in the Universe
 Emission

• If excited hydrogen atoms fall to lower energy states, photons will be emitted.
• The emitted photons will be detected as light of certain bands of frequencies (i.e. colors).
• The collection of bands (or lines) forms an emission spectrum.
Emission from hot star versus emission from
cool gas thin cloud
Doppler’s Effect: Source Moving
 Source Moving

Source is moving towards the detector: Shorter

Source is moving away from detector:
wavelength
longer wavelength
v

λ
λ λ’

λ’

'  vsT   '  vsT  

' v  ' vs 
 s   
v vf v v vf v
1 vs 1 1 vs 1
   
f ' vf f f ' vf f
 v 
 v  f '  f  
f '  f    v  vs 
 v  vs 
2.5 The Doppler Effect of Motion

The light of a
moving source is
blue/red shifted by

Dl/l0
l0 = actual
wavelength
emitted by the
Blue Shift (to higher
source
Red Shift (to lower
frequencies) Dl = Wavelength
frequencies)
change due to
Doppler effect
 The Doppler effect for light

Blueshift (to shorter Redshift (to longer wavelengths and

wavelengths and higher lower frequencies)
frequencies)
 The Doppler Effect

 Wavelengths increase, if separation between source

and receiver is increasing

 Wavelengths decrease, if separation between source

and receiver is decreasing

Order matters!

vobj obs  rest

 For blueshift, vobj
 
c  rest is negative.
Absorption lines in the visible spectrum of a
supercluster of distant galaxies (right), as
compared to absorption lines in the visible
spectrum of the Sun (left). Arrows indicate
redshift. Wavelength increases up towards
the red and beyond (frequency decreases).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshift
Moving stars

• Doppler shift can help us

measure the motion of stars
• in their orbits around
the Galactic centre
• in other galaxies
• It can also provide evidence
for planets around other
stars
• and tell us about the history
and fate of the universe
How Doppler shift can provide evidence for planets around other stars
 Conversion of Temperature

𝒙 − 𝒙 𝑴𝑷 𝒚 − 𝒚 𝑴𝑷
=
𝒙 𝑩 𝑷 − 𝒙 𝑴𝑷 𝒚 𝑩 𝑷 − 𝒚 𝑴𝑷

2
𝐴=𝜋 𝑟

Q1. Give the temperature in degrees Celsius for a 60°F day.

Q2. What Fahrenheit temperature corresponds to 30°C?

Q3. The Earth’s average temperature is about 27°C. What is its

average temperature in Kelvin?
Doppler shift due to rotating planet