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If the spectrum of a star shows the same absorption lines as the sun what can be said about the stars composition?
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
When stars form in the present Milky Way galaxy they are composed of about 71% hydrogen and 27% helium,[87] as measured by mass, with a small fraction of heavier elements. Typically the portion of heavy elements is measured in terms of the iron content of the stellar atmosphere, as iron is a common element and its absorption lines are relatively easy to measure. Because the molecular clouds where stars form are steadily enriched by heavier elements from supernovae explosions, a measurement of the chemical composition of a star can be used to infer its age.[88] The portion of heavier elements may also be an indicator of the likelihood that the star has a planetary system.[89]
The star with the lowest iron content ever measured is the dwarf HE1327-2326, with only 1/200,000th the iron content of the Sun.[90] By contrast, the super-metal-rich star μ Leonis has nearly double the abundance of iron as the Sun, while the planet-bearing star 14 Herculis has nearly triple the iron.[91] There also exist chemically peculiar stars that show unusual abundances of certain elements in their spectrum; especially chromium and rare earth elements
Edit : That's interesting, but it doesn't answer the question. The answer is that
the star and the Sun must have the same chemical elements in their "atmospheres".
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
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What can be said about the star composition if the spectrum of a star shows the same absorption lines as the sun?
If the spectrum of a star shows the same absorption lines as the sun than you know that the star has the same composition as the sun. This means that the star is made of the same elements as the sun.
How an absorption spectrum can identify a star's composition?
By looking at the lines in a star's spectrum of light, astronomers can tell what kinds of elements the star is made of. This happens because when a beam of light hits an atom or molecule, that atom absorbs a characteristic wavelength (color) of visible light. Scientists have made a huge list of different elements and the different patterns of lines observed in theirj corresponding "spectra" (fancy word for light spectrums), and by using such lists can deduce precisely what each star is made of.
What is the difference between the light you see from stars and light you see from planets?
Visible light is defined as ALL frequencies in the range of 380 to 750 nm, and shows up as a smooth transition of colors like a rainbow when we split it up with a prism or diffraction grating. The spectrum of a star (like our Sun) contains (or is missing, depending on how you look at it) absorption lines that show up as dark lines in the spectrum. The link below has a very good visual comparison.
A star whose spectral lines are shifted toward the red end of the spectrum?
In simplest terms, the shift of galactic spectral lines towards the red end of the spectrum would indicate simply that the galaxy in question is receding from the observer. This is an example of the Doppler effect, where the frequency is lowered (wavelengths become longer, and in this case energy of the photons is decreased) by the relative motion of the observer. The redshifting of galaxies in all directions became the primary evidence of an expanding universe (cosmological redshift). Because the expansion of the universe is fairly uniform in all directions, those galaxies that are most distant are receding the fastest and thus evidence the greatest amount of redshift. By contrast, if a characteristic spectral line of a galaxy or other object shifted towards the blue end of the spectrum (shorter wavelengths), it would be traveling towards the observer.
Does the sun contain real gold?
Careful analysis of the sun's spectrum shows that about 6 ten-billionths (0.0000000006) of the mass of the sun consists of atoms of gold.
What can be said about the star composition if the spectrum of a star shows the same absorption lines as the sun?
If the spectrum of a star shows the same absorption lines as the sun than you know that the star has the same composition as the sun. This means that the star is made of the same elements as the sun.
How is a star simmular to the Sun if it has the same absorption lines in its spectrum that occur in the Sun's spectrum?
because they will have the same elements in the atmosphere...
What can be determined by studying a solar spectrum?
Dark lines of the absorption spectrum give the elemental composition of the chromosphere, information about the magnetic field and density of the surface. The peak of the continuous spectrum gives the surface temperature. The Doppler Effect shows the movement of the sun and the sun's surface. Splitting of spectral lines verifies the magnetism of sunspots.
What does the absorption spectrum of an atom show?
The absorption spectrum of an atom shows that the atom emits that spectrum which it absorbs.
How can you Distinguish absorption spectrum from emission spectrum?
Emission spectra are bright-line spectra, absorption spectra are dark-line spectra. That is: an emission spectrum is a series of bright lines on a dark background. An absorption spectrum is a series of dark lines on a normal spectrum (rainbow) background.
Figure 10.1 shows the absorption spectrum for chlorophyll a and the action spectrum for photosynthesis Why are they different?
The absorption spectrum shows which wave lengths are absorbed in each individual type of chlorophyll. The action spectrum shows which wavelengths of light are most effective for photosynthesis.
Why in an absorption spectrum the back ground is bright and the lines are dark?
Because it is an absorption spectrum. An absorption spectrum begins with a source of pure white light. This hits a prism which spreads it out into a spectrum and the result shows on a screen as a bright band of colours. If you put this into a glass case and seal it to the outside world, nothing changes. Now if blow a gas into the tank, the atoms in the gas absorb different wavelengths (colours) of light. The result you see is a normal spectrum of colours, but with one or more dark lines across it. This is because the atoms in the gas through which the white light is shining are absorbing some or all of various colours in the spectrum. What those colours are is absolutely characteristic and definitive of that particular gas. This is a very powerful technique for identifying elements which are present only in trace amounts. An interesting light on this is that the element Helium was first discovered not on earth, but on the sun by some dark lines in the sun's spectrum which did not belong to any known element.
How an absorption spectrum can identify a star's composition?
By looking at the lines in a star's spectrum of light, astronomers can tell what kinds of elements the star is made of. This happens because when a beam of light hits an atom or molecule, that atom absorbs a characteristic wavelength (color) of visible light. Scientists have made a huge list of different elements and the different patterns of lines observed in theirj corresponding "spectra" (fancy word for light spectrums), and by using such lists can deduce precisely what each star is made of.
How is the emission spectrum related to the absorption spectrum?
They are related by they are both spectrums that give the color(s) that the element is. The Emission Spectrum shows what color(s) it gives off, and the Absortion shows what color it absorbs and doesn't show. They also fit together and make a continuous spectrum.
An astronomer finds that the visible spectrum of a mysterious object shows bright emission lines What can the astronomer conclude about the source?
it comes from a hot, tenuous gas
Does temperature affect whether or not a spectrum shows?
Temperature does affect whether or not a spectrum shows up and how. The higher the temperature is, the more red the spectrum will appear, while the cooler it is, the more blue it will appear.
Importance of composition?
Composition is important cause it shows people what a picture could do.
