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Astronomy & Space vocabulary · Telescopes & Observation

Spectroscopy

Meaning in astronomy & space, with examples

/spekˈtrɑːskəpi/nounAdvanced term

In astronomy & space, spectroscopy means: The study of light by splitting it into its colours, or spectrum. The dark and bright lines in a spectrum reveal an object's chemical make-up, temperature and motion.

In Turkish: spektroskopi, tayf analizi

How it is used

One of the most important tools in astronomy. Researchers 'take a spectrum' of a star or galaxy with a spectrograph and identify elements from its spectral lines. Exoplanet scientists use it to study planetary atmospheres.

Example sentences

  1. Spectroscopy showed that the star is made mostly of hydrogen and helium.

  2. Helium was first discovered through spectroscopy of the Sun, before it was found on Earth.

Common collocations

  • infrared spectroscopy
  • spectroscopic observations
  • spectral lines
  • take a spectrum
  • redshiftThe stretching of light from an object that is moving away from us or whose light crosses expanding space, so that its spectral lines shift to longer, redder wavelengths.
  • telescopeAn instrument that collects light or other radiation from distant objects with lenses, mirrors or antennas, so that faint and far-away things can be seen and studied.
  • exoplanetA planet that orbits a star other than the Sun. The first one around a Sun-like star was found in 1995, and thousands are known today.
  • astronomerA scientist who studies stars, planets, galaxies and other objects in space, usually by observing them and analysing the data.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Telescopes & Observation

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