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    Why do the wavelengths of stars broaden when they move away from us?

    Question #7801. Asked by BadBob. (Nov 12 00 5:41 PM)


    JReid

    		A complete answer would take more room than there is here, but it is basically due to the Doppler Effect. As the whistle of an approaching train will sound to the ear to be slightly higher in pitch than when at rest, so will the sound of the receding whistle sound lower. This is the Doppler Effect, whereby the sound waves are compressed by the speed of an approaching source, and lengthened when the source is moving away. So it is with stars and galaxies, most of which are moving away from us. Light from the objects is therefore shifted into the redder end of the visible spectrum, hence the term 'red-shift'. By comparing the apparent wavelength of light from known elements like sodium, astonomers can estimate how fast the object is moving away from us.

    Nov 13 00, 6:05 PM

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