The Cosmic Messenger

 Basic Properties of Light & Matter

 Learning from Light
 Types of Telescopes

 Further Reading: The Essential Cosmic Perspective, Chapters 5

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-1
Light: The Cosmic Messenger
 Ancient observers keep track of
time & seasons, navigate &
study the heavens by looking at
light from the night sky.
 Early observers could only
discern the most basic features
of the light they saw, such as
color & brightness.
 Over the past several hundred years, we have discovered that
light carries far more information.
 Today, light of distant objects are analyzed to learn what they
are made of, how hot they are, how fast they are moving &
much more.
 Light brings stories of distant objects to Earth.
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-2
What is Light?
Nature of light remained a
mystery until recently in
human history.
Isaac Newton discovered
that white light is made up
of a spectrum of colors in
1660s.
 prior to that, many thought that
the colors came from the prism
Light is also known as electromagnetic radiation.
 visible light is only a tiny part of the complete light spectrum
 there is also light that our eyes cannot see

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-3

Nature of Light
Light is form of energy transport consisting of
electromagnetic waves traveling at the speed of light.
 no mass is exchanged & no medium is required
Light has a dual nature: wave & particle.
 demonstrated by physics experiments over the past hundred
years or so

Wave Particle
Nature Nature
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-4
Wave Nature of Light
 Wave is a disturbance that transmit
energy through space & time without
carrying material along with it.

 Light is an electromagnetic
wave.
 can affect both charged
particles & magnet

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-5

Wave Nature of Light, cont’d
 Light travel through empty space at the same speed of
c = 3108 m/s.
 Speed of light is defined by: c=f
 f – frequency of light (Hz) &  - wavelength of light (m)

Shorter wavelength Longer wavelength

Higher frequency Lower frequency

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-6

Particle Nature of Light
Light also have particle properties.
We can think of light as consisting of many individual
packets of energy called photons.
 each photon also travel at the speed of light
 a photon has no electric charge or mass but possesses
momentum & energy
Energy of each photon is
proportional to frequency
of light ( E  f ).
 the higher the frequency (the
shorter the wavelength), the
higher the photon energy

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-7

Electromagnetic Spectrum: The Many Forms of Light

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-8

What is Matter?
We are interested in the matter of planets, stars &
galaxies.
 obviously not practical to study these objects by going to them
Light can interact with these matter & information
about them are carried across the universe.
 need to understand the nature of matter before you can decode
the information received in light
Matter are made up of atoms.
 more than 100 different types of atoms, known as chemical
elements (periodic table)
 atoms are in turn made up of particles called protons (+ve
charge), neutrons (no charge) & electrons (-ve charge)

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-9

 Nature of Matter

Broglie did this by enquiring about wavelengths with this question, "Given that light behaves
as waves and particles, can particles of matter behave as waves?" He predicted that all matter
exhibits wavelike motions.

This new method led to quantum mechanics. Broglie didn't do an experiment to prove this
theory, but Davisson-Germer did.
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-10
Structure of a Typical Atom

Properties of atom depend

mainly on the electrical
charge in the nucleus.

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-11

Atomic Terminology

 Each different chemical element contains different proton

number in the nucleus.
 called the atomic number
 proton + neutron = atomic mass number

 Atoms of an element with different

neutron number are called isotopes.
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-12
Atomic Terminology

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-13

Light-Matter Interactions
Four ways in which light can interact with matter:
Emission
 matter releases energy as light
Absorption
 matter takes energy from light
Transmission
 matter allows light to pass through it
Reflection
 light bounce off matter to another direction
Materials that
 transmit light are said to be transparent
 absorb light are called opaque
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-14
Types of Light Spectra

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-15

Energy Levels in Atoms

Electron energies are

quantized & can only
take on certain discrete
values

Electrons in an atom can only have particular amount of

energy & not others in between.
 lowest energy level is called the ground state
 higher energy levels are known as excited states
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-16
Origin of Emission & Absorption Lines 

 The spectral lines are due to the unique set of discrete

energy levels for each type of atom, ion or molecule.
 unique spectral “fingerprint” can be use to identify the
chemicals in celestial objects
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-17
Spectral Lines of Different Elements

Compares with spectral lines of

known elements to infer the
composition of an celestial object.

Solar
Spectrum
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-18
Thermal Radiation

Thermal
Radiation
Spectra

Nearly all large or dense objects emit thermal radiation,

including stars, planets & even you.
An object’s thermal radiation spectrum depends on only
one property: its temperature.
 thermal radiation is also known as a blackbody radiation
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-19
Thermal Radiation

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-20

Laws of Thermal Radiation
The thermal radiation of an object is described by two
laws:
 Stefan-Boltzmann Law – A hotter object’s surface emits
more light per square meter at all wavelengths. The total
energy radiated per unit surface area varies as the fourth
power of the object’s temperature (  T4 ).

 Wien’s Law – Hotter objects emit photons with a higher

average energy, i.e. shorter average wavelength. Peak
wavelength of thermal radiation spectrum is inversely related
to the object’s temperature (  1/T ).

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-21

Stefan-Boltzmann Law Two stars of the
same temperature

The large star

will emit 4
times the total
Small star is half the
size of the large star energy of the
smaller star.

A hotter object’s surface emits more light per square

meter at all wavelengths. The total energy radiated per
unit surface area varies as the fourth power of the
object’s temperature ( T4 ).
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-22
Stefan-Boltzmann Law

Surface area of a sphere = 4 x π x R2

(4 x π x R2) / (4 x π x (R/2)2) = 4 times!

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-23

Wien’s Law

Hotter objects emit photons with a higher average

energy, i.e. shorter average wavelength. Peak
wavelength of thermal radiation spectrum is inversely
related to the object’s temperature (  1/T ).
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-24
 Which star is
hotter?

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-25

Doppler Effect
Sound Light

 Doppler effect refers to the change in frequency of a wave

for an observer moving relative to the source of the wave.
 amount of shift is proportional to the relative velocity
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-26
How do we tell the Speed of a Distant Object?

Radial velocity: v = D c
0

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-27

Doppler Shift & Line of Sight

Radial Tangential
velocity velocity

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-28

Measuring Rotational Velocity

The Doppler effect broadens the widths of the spectral lines of rotating
objects. One side of a rotating object is moving toward us creating a
blueshift, while the other side is rotating away from us, creating a redshift.
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-29
Collecting Light with Telescopes
 We can only see a little amount of light when we look at the
sky with our naked eyes.
 Telescopes are essentially giant eyes
that can collect far more light,
allowing us to see much fainter
objects in much greater detail.
 specify in terms of light-collecting
area & angular resolution
 scientific instruments can be
connected to analyze the light (visible
or invisible) they collect

Galileo's Telescope
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-30
Bigger is Better

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-31

Types of Telescope
 Telescopes come in two basic designs:

 Refracting telescope uses lenses

to collect & focus light

 Reflecting telescope uses curved

mirrors to collect & focus light
(used exclusively in professional
astronomy today)

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-32

Refracting Telescopes

A large convex lens

concentrates light from a
distant object to the focus.
Eyepiece is a short focus
lens that enables the eye
to view a magnified
version of the image
produced.

Yerkes 1 m refracting telescope:

largest refractor in the world
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-33
Reflecting Telescopes

The primary mirror reflects light to a

secondary mirror before focusing it to a
hole in the primary mirror. The image is
viewed with a eyepiece after the hole. Gemini North telescope:
8 m diameter primary mirror
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-34
Alternative Design of Reflecting Telescopes

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-35

Other Reflecting Telescopes
The most powerful telescope on the
summit on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, is
the twin Keck observatory, which
has 10 m diameter mirror made up
of 36 hexagonal segments that
effectively work as a single piece of
reflective glass.

The telescopes can operate

together to form a single
astronomical interferometer,
which can probe structures with
higher resolution by means of
interferometry.
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-36
Telescopes Across the Spectrum
 Telescopes for other wavelengths of light allow us to learn
far more about our universe than with visible light alone.
 telescopes for nonvisible light require a different design
 Long wavelength radio wave telescopes have to be very
large to achieve reasonable angular resolution.
 resolution is proportional to wavelength

Arecibo radio telescope, the

largest single telescope in
the world, stretches 305 m
across a natural valley in
Puerto Rico.

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-37

Other Radio Telescopes

Very Large Array (VLA) in New

Mexico links 27 radio dishes laid
out in Y shape for interferometric
observation. Angular resolution
is equivalent to a single telescope
with a diameter of 40 km.

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-38

Atmospheric Absorption

Ground-based telescopes at
wavelengths outside the transmission
windows are completely useless!

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-39

Observatories in the Sky

 Satellites belonging to the NASA’s Great Observatory

Program for the observation of distant planets, galaxies &
other outer-space objects.
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-40
Space-Based Telescopes (-ray)

 Compton Gamma Ray Observatory: detects  -ray.

 Launched in 1991.
 Deliberately de-orbited & fell into the Pacific Ocean in 2000.
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-41
 Space-Based Telescopes (X-ray)
http://chandra.harvard.edu/

Subrahmanyan
Chandrasekhar
(1910 – 1995)

 Chandra X-Ray Observatory: detects X-ray.

 Launched in 1999.

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-42

 Space-Based Telescopes (UV, Visible, NIR)
http://hubblesite.org/

Edwin Hubble
(1889-1953)

 Hubble Space Telescope: detects UV, visible, NIR.

 Launched in 1990.
 To be replace by James Webb Space Telescope,
due to be launched in 2018.
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-43
James Webb Space Telescope

James Webb
(1906-1992)

 Instruments have wavelength coverage from 0.6 to 28 µm.

 Primarily look at the universe in the infrared.

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-44

Space-Based Telescopes (IR)
 Spitzer Space Telescope:
detects IR from 3~180 mm.
 Launched in 2003. Lyman Spitzer
(1914-1997)

Messier 81, a spiral galaxy

12m light-years away.
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-45
Why do we put Telescopes in Space?

light telescope cover

enters

solar
panels

secondary
mirror

primary
mirror
 Despite the relatively small
size of Hubble Space
Telescope’s primary mirror
scientific (2.4 m diameter), it performs
instruments
much better than larger
diameter ground-based
telescopes at visible
wavelengths. Why?
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-46
Atmospheric Effects on Visible Light
 Brightness of the daytime sky limits visible-light observation
to the night.
 bad weather can also make it impossible to observe at night
 no such problem with radio telescopes, which can observe both
day & night
 Scattering of man-made lights by the atmosphere makes the
night sky brighter  light pollution.

EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-47

Atmospheric Effects on Visible Light, cont’d

 Air turbulence in the atmosphere distorts light.

 bends light in constantly shifting patterns
 causes twinkling of stars
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-48
Advanced Telescopic Observation
The observatory can shine a laser into
the sky to create an artificial star (a
point of light in Earth’s atmosphere) it
can monitor for atmospheric distortions.

 Adaptive optics technology can eliminate blurring caused

by atmosphere.
 constantly deforms mirror in telescope to compensate rapidly
changing atmospheric distortion
 required amount of mirror deformation obtained from monitoring
a bright star or “artificial star” created by laser
EE8086 – Astronomy: Stars, Galaxies & Cosmology p.3-49