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Location:
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KFC Courts |
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Date:
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Monday, Aug.01 |
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Time:
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8:45PM - 9:30PM
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Author:
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Doug Lombardi, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
702-513-4415, lombar37@unlv.nevada.edu
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Co-Author(s):
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Donna Young, Pamela Perry
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Abstract:
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Astronomers classify stars based on the major components of their spectra. Much like bar-codes on store items, stellar spectra are each slightly different. The study of spectra provides scientists with important information about stars that is otherwise inaccessible, including composition, temperature, mass, luminosity, age, and evolutionary history. Spectroscopy is the study of starlight -- which is analyzed and plotted by intensity versus wavelength -- and visually represented as spectra. The stellar classification system of O,B,A,F,G,K,M is based upon spectral analysis. Spectra also determine the position of an object on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram; each location on the diagram has a unique combination of magnitude and temperature, which gives information about the evolutionary stage of the star. This poster discusses an activity that uses real stellar spectra to help students learn about star properties and characteristics.
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Footnotes:
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None
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