The mass of a star helps us understand its properties such as internal pressure and gravitational pull. By observing and calculating the orbital size of eclipsing binaries, the mass of a star can be determined. […]
The temperature of the stars influence their luminosity. With the help of data collected over the years, the HR diagram highlights how the red-colored demarcation of the stars denote colder temperature than the blue-colored, hotter stars. […]
Out of the three laws, Kirchhoff’s third law is the most interesting. It states that the path for the photons is not all similar. It varies according to the wavelength. […]
When we study the spectrum of a star, we see lots of divots, which are absorption lines. However, these are not the same for every celestial body. The pattern of absorption lines is differs for each. […]
When it comes to the spectrum of sunlight, interestingly, the pattern of lines provide us data regarding its temperature. These dark lines speak of atoms and molecules that are in their minimum energy state. […]
Radio astronomy was discovered much later than optical astronomy. Karl Jansky was the first person to discover radio statics. With its longer wavelengths, radio astronomy makes it easier to build telescopes. […]
Radio and optical telescopes use glass mirrors with aluminum or silver coating. While the radio telescopes have mirrors with a parabolic surface, the optical telescopes refrain from using parabola. Instead, they use multiple mirrors to eliminate aberrations. […]
Pinhole cameras map images the way telescopes do. The technique works for some telescopes whereas others use a variation in the mechanism. Astronomers have been adapting the pinhole technique in their individual ways to build up telescopes. […]
Research telescopes, in order to measure the flux of a source, use the system of units referred to as a magnitude scale. Considering the huge scales of calculations required in astronomy, this unit keeps the numbers manageable. […]
The spectral resolution of a telescope makes possible for astronomers to not only distinguish colors but also to sort the photons by wavelength. This enables them to study the nature of a light source. […]
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