They can do so by examining the light from the star. Doppler shift can indicate this
How close and far something is from you.
Astronomers determine whether a star is moving toward or away from the Earth via the Doppler effect. Imagine a motorcycle moving past you. As it drives towards you, it has a higher frequency, and a lower frequency when it drives away. The same thing happens with light. As an object moves towards us, its light has a higher frequency and lower wavelength - this is called blueshift. As an object moves away from us, its light has a lower frequency and higher wavelength - this is called redshift.
The spectrum of a star provides information about its temperature, composition, and motion. By analyzing the spectrum, astronomers can determine the star's chemical makeup, age, and even whether it is moving toward or away from Earth.
By using the Doppler effect
Astronomers determine whether a star is moving toward or away from the Earth via the Doppler effect. Imagine a motorcycle moving past you. As it drives towards you, it has a higher frequency, and a lower frequency when it drives away. The same thing happens with light. As an object moves towards us, its light has a higher frequency and lower wavelength - this is called blueshift. As an object moves away from us, its light has a lower frequency and higher wavelength - this is called redshift.
By examining its spectrum, and identifying absorption lines in it. Lines are shifted toward shorter wavelength if the object is moving towards us. They're shifted toward longer wavelength if the object is moving away from us.
they look at the sky and say hi to barney
They can determine how fast the star is moving toward or away from us. The chemical spectral signature is used to determine the Doppler shift of the visible light reaching us. This is then used to calculate how fast we and the star in question are moving toward or away from each other.
That depends on whether the locomotive is moving or standing still, and if it's moving, then that depends on whether it's => moving toward you or => moving away from you.
If a star is moving toward Earth, it will experience a redshift in its light spectrum due to the Doppler effect. This means that the wavelengths of light will be stretched and appear more red. This effect allows astronomers to measure the speed and direction of a star's movement.
A Doppler red-shift is a shift in recognizable features of a star's spectrum from the wavelengths where we know they belong toward longer wavelengths. Such a shift can be caused by the star's moving away from us, and that's how it's interpreted when astronomers see it. A Doppler blue-shift is a shift in recognizable features of a star's spectrum from the wavelengths where we know they belong toward shorter wavelengths. Such a shift can be caused by the star's moving toward us, and that's how it's interpreted when astronomers see it.
If a galaxy's light is blue-shifted, it indicates that the galaxy is moving toward us. This shift occurs because the wavelengths of light are compressed as the source approaches, resulting in a shift toward the blue end of the spectrum. This phenomenon is a key piece of evidence for the motion of celestial objects and can help astronomers determine their velocities relative to Earth.