Unit 3: Topic 1 Vocab - Spectral Analysis of Light (Stars)

Spectroscopy

The study of light emitted by stars to determine their composition, temperature, and movement.

Spectroscope

A tool that splits starlight into a rainbow spectrum to reveal a star's composition, temperature, and movement.

Continuous Spectrum

An unbroken rainbow of all light wavelengths produced by a hot, dense object like an incandescent bulb core.

Absorption Spectrum

A rainbow broken by dark lines created when cool gas absorbs specific wavelengths of light passing through it.

Emission Spectrum

A series of bright colored lines on a dark background produced when hot, glowing gas emits light at specific wavelengths.

Apparent Magnitude

How bright a star appears from Earth.

Absolute Magnitude

The true intrinsic brightness of a star if placed at a standard distance from Earth.

Luminosity

The total amount of light energy a star emits per second.

Parallax

The apparent shift in a star's position when viewed from different points in Earth's orbit, used to measure stellar distances.

Light-Year

The distance light travels in one year (about 6 trillion miles), used to measure vast distances in space.