Space is a pretty big place and, after all, we've never been farther from
earth than our moon. How do we know what the stars are made of?
calciu
m
uranium
oxygen
What else can the light from distant stars and galaxies tell us?
When an object such as a star or galaxy is moving towards us the
the wavelengths of the light it emits are shifted towards the blue end
of the spectrum (frequency is shifted higher). This is called blue shift.
If the object is moving away its light is shifted towards the red end of
the spectrum (frequency is shifted lower) . This is called red shift.
This
phenomenon, the shifting of wavelengths due to the relative motion of
objects, is called the Doppler Effect(discovered by Autrian
mathematician and physicistChristian Doppler)
Doppler Effect
Shifting of wavelengths can occur with both sound
and light
Doppler effect is easier to observe with sound
With sound you will hear a change in pitch
Imagine an ambulance approaching a person standing on a
sidewalk:
As the ambulance moves closer the pitch becomes higher
As the ambulance moves away the pitch becomes lower
Ambulance Doppler
Train Doppler
Helium
Blue
Red
Red
Blue
Red
Red
ALL of the light from stars and galaxies that reaches the earth
is red shifted. What does that mean?
It means that everything is moving away from us!
How can everything be moving away from us?
The only explanation for that is .............................................
BIG BANG!