• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Science / How Do Scientists Determine the Temperature of Stars and Planets and Who Invented the Spectroscope?

How Do Scientists Determine the Temperature of Stars and Planets and Who Invented the Spectroscope?

June 5, 2020 by Karen Hill

Astronomical temperatures are usually estimated from spectroscopic measurements.

The spectroscope was invented in 1859 by two German scientists, Robert Wilhelm Bunsen of Bunsen burner fame and Gustav Robert Kirchoff.

It was first used to analyze the elements in a substance heated to incandescence, each element gave off characteristic wavelengths of visible light.

Bunsen used the device to identify two new elements, cesium and rubidium.

It was later discovered that the presence of certain elements in distant heavenly bodies, and their corresponding temperatures, could be analyzed by the same color yardstick, and by spectral lines, the patterns created by the emission and absorption spectra of the elements in stars and other heavenly bodies.

Over the years, scientists refined their classification of stars.

One early scheme was alphabetical, based on the strength of hydrogen absorption lines in the stellar spectrum, with the classification running from A to P.

A later rearrangement was designed to correspond to a sequence of decreasing surface temperatures, most stars could be divided into seven spectral types.

It dropped some letters, and this famous sequence could be remembered by the initials for the words “Oh Se A Fine Girl, Kiss Me.” It runs from the hottest blue O stars to the coolest red M stars.

Astronomers now take the entire electromagnetic spectrum into account, not just visible light.

In general, cool objects give off radiation of long wavelengths while hotter objects give off short wavelengths.

Infrared telescopes sent into space far beyond the obscuring atmosphere of the earth measure the short wavelengths below those of gamma ray telescopes are trained on longer and longer wavelengths and hotter and hotter astronomical objects and events.

Related Facts

  • What Are the Differences Between Planets and Stars and How Are Stars and Planets Similar?
  • What Are the Outer Planets, What Are The Names of the Outer Planets, and Where Are the Outer Planets Located?
  • Why Do Stars Twinkle and What Causes Stars and Planets To Twinkle At Night?
  • What Are Stars Made Of and How Do Astronomers Determine What Stars Are Made Of?
  • How Are Stars Born, How Are New Stars Formed From Clouds of Dust and Gases, and How Do We Detect New Stars?
  • How Is Temperature Measured In Space and Who Invented the Kelvin Scale For Temperature?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Why Can You See the Moon In the Daytime and Why Can’t We See the Stars During the Day?
Next Post: Why Does the Moon Always Show the Same Face To the Earth and Are Moons of Other Planets Similar? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy