Astromony Q: Red Shift of 500nm Wavelength Line in Hydra Galaxy

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In summary, the conversation is about an astronomy question involving the use of the relativistic doppler effect to determine the red shift of a green spectral line emitted by a distant galaxy in the constellation Hydra. The given information includes the galaxy's recession speed and the wavelength of the spectral line.
  • #1
asdf1
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There's an astromony question that I'm stuck on~
" A distant galaxy in the constellation Hydra is receding from the Earth at 6.12*10^7 m/s. By how much is a green spectral line of wavelength 500nm (1nm=10^(-9) )emitted by this galaxy shifted toward the red end of the spectrum?
 
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  • #2
what knowledge do you have?
 
  • #3
asdf1 said:
There's an astromony question that I'm stuck on~
" A distant galaxy in the constellation Hydra is receding from the Earth at 6.12*10^7 m/s. By how much is a green spectral line of wavelength 500nm (1nm=10^(-9) )emitted by this galaxy shifted toward the red end of the spectrum?

Just use the relativistic doppler effect:

[tex]\nu_{obs}/\nu_{source} = \sqrt{\frac{1+\beta}{1-\beta}}[/tex]

where [itex]\beta = v/c = .204[/itex] and [itex]\nu_{source} = c/\lambda_{source}[/itex]

AM
 
  • #4
How did you think of to use the Doppler effect?
 
  • #5
Probably because the question is about the Doppler effect (well, it's about red shift, which is to do with the Doppler effect). Also, you mean "astronomy", not "astromony".
 
  • #6
I see~
Thanks for correcting my spelling mistake!
 

1. What is a "red shift" in astronomy?

A red shift in astronomy refers to the phenomenon where the wavelength of light from a distant object appears to be stretched out, shifting towards the red end of the electromagnetic spectrum. This is due to the Doppler effect, where the object is moving away from the observer, causing the wavelength of light to appear longer.

2. What does a red shift of 500nm wavelength line in the Hydra Galaxy indicate?

A red shift of 500nm wavelength line in the Hydra Galaxy indicates that the galaxy is moving away from us at a high velocity. This is because the higher the red shift value, the faster the object is moving away from us.

3. How is the red shift of a galaxy measured?

The red shift of a galaxy is measured by comparing the observed wavelength of a specific spectral line (such as the 500nm line in this case) to its expected wavelength. The difference between these two values gives the red shift value.

4. What can the red shift of a galaxy tell us about the universe?

The red shift of a galaxy can tell us about the expansion of the universe. The higher the red shift value, the farther away the galaxy is and the faster it is moving away from us. This supports the theory of the expanding universe.

5. How is the red shift of galaxies used in cosmology?

The red shift of galaxies is used in cosmology to measure the distances and velocities of objects in the universe. It is also used to study the history and evolution of the universe, as well as to understand the properties of dark matter and dark energy.

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