2006-10-01 12:55:55 · 8 answers · asked by brave x 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
it allows you to calculate the velocity and direction of astronomical bodies which gives us a sense of what the universe as a whole is doing.
2006-10-01 13:04:27 · answer #1 · answered by zmonte 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Super nova gives off the exact same amount of light each time one occurs. So by measuring this light scientist can measure exactly how far away the super novi was when it occurred. When you take 2 readings of this light you can detect a difference in the light which shows the super novii is moving this is the Doppler effect. Now with this measurement you can tell how fast it is moving and can tell if its moving towards us or away from us. That helps scientist to determine if the universe is expanding or collapsing. So far the data has shown its expanding at an accelerated rate
2006-10-01 20:19:09 · answer #2 · answered by Tommiecat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In addition to information on the rate at which objects are moving away from us, we have to account for doppler shift to identify where the spectra of various elements we may be looking for are going to turn up.
For example, the Balmer series for hydrogen will not appear where it does in a laboratory, but the pattern will be there, with all the spikes typically shifted to longer wavelengths. So the pattern can still be identified once you know to look for it by accounting for doppler shift.
2006-10-02 02:30:10 · answer #3 · answered by SAN 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They use the Doppler shift for lots of things, like determining the the rate of expansion of the universe, distance to galaxies, how fast various celestial bodies are moving, whether or not star has a companion star or planet, how fast gasses are escaping from a star or spiraling into a black hole, how fast a star or galaxy is rotating and on an on. It is one of the most important phenomena observed and measured in astronomy and cosmology.
2006-10-01 20:09:40 · answer #4 · answered by cchew4 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The doppler shift refers to the compression or stretching of lightwaves as a mass in space moves in respect to the earth.
If a large mass, such as a star, is moving towards us, the light waves comming from that body to us (the light that we can see) are compressed, shifting them into the blue frequency. The faster this star comes at us, the "bluer" its light gets. Such a star would be said to be blue shifted.
If a star is recceding from us its lightwaves would be stretched out causing the light to be shifted into the red end of the spectrum. This star would be red shifted.
By looking at these shifts it is possible to tell how fast a body is moving through space, rotational velocity, etc.
2006-10-01 21:47:26 · answer #5 · answered by dreigh4712 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well, the doppler shift illustrates that the universe is expanding.
2006-10-01 20:03:45 · answer #6 · answered by synchronicity915 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because of Hubble's Law which states that the redshift involved is proportional to the distance from earth of the star observed, You can obtain the latter by multiplying the former by Hubble's Constant, Thus we can determined how far away very distant objects like quasars are and the speed at which they are receding from us,
2006-10-05 18:54:43 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because you can see, from the light frequency, that cosmic bodies are fleeing.
2006-10-01 19:58:03 · answer #8 · answered by soymilk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋