Astronomy 100, Unit 1 Discussion Questions

1. State three properties (there are more than three) of any visible object in the universe (such as a star) that one can determine by spectroscopy (measurement of light intensity & spectra at all wavelength). Explain how to determine each of these properties from a measured spectrum.

2. If you photograph stars in the night sky, you will see that some stars are blue, some are red, and most are like our Sun – yellowish. What do you conclude about the relative surface temperatures of these three kinds of star, based on the textbook’s discussion of blackbody radiation?

3. What is the significance of the "Copernican Revolution."