Have you ever wondered why stars look different colours? What do these colours mean? How do we know what stars are made of? Explore these questions with our classify a star activity. Use Wien’s displacement law to work out the temperatures and classifications of some real stars!
Elephant
By the end of this resource you will:
- Have used Wien’s displacement law to calculate the temperature of a star
- Used Wien’s displacement law on real stellar data
- Analysed a stellar spectrum to find absorption lines
To complete this resource you will need:
- A calculator
- A pen/pencil
- A ruler
Files Needed
Stellar_spectroscopy_worksheet.pdf
(401.83 KB)
Stellar_spectroscopy_worksheet_answers.pdf
(411.69 KB)
Approx Duration
30 - 60 mins
Have a go!
Your challenge is to work out the temperature of a star using Wien’s displacement law using the worksheet above.
- First, make sure you have a copy of the worksheet and a calculator to hand.
- Follow the steps in the worksheet to find:
- The temperature of a blackbody
- The temperature of a real stellar spectrum
- Absorption lines in a stellar spectrum
- Well done – you’ve classified a star!
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