Technique · Spectroscopy & Classification

Spectroscopy

Spreading light into its spectrum to read the fingerprints of the elements. Spectral lines reveal what an object is made of, how hot it is, how it moves (through the Doppler shift), and the strength of its magnetic fields — the single most powerful tool in astronomy.

Spectroscopy & ClassificationMeasures: Composition, temperature, and motion

Highlights

›The most powerful single tool in astronomy

Knowledge connections

Member of groupSpectroscopy & Classification
Associated withClassification
Associated withBiosignature Science
Associated withAtmospheric Biosignature
Associated withBiosignature False Positive
Associated withSimple Spectral Access
Associated withEchelle Spectrograph
Associated withIntegral-Field Spectrograph
Associated withMKID
Associated withCarbon Dioxide
Associated withThe History of Spectroscopy
Associated withWien Peak Wavelength
Associated withTransmission Spectroscopy
Associated withEmission Spectroscopy
Associated withHigh-Resolution Cross-Correlation Spectroscopy
Associated withNarrowband Imaging

Sources

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.

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