Part 1: Red or Blue shift of light

The visible light spectrum is like a rainbow made up of different colors, and each color has its own special wavelength.
When we see sunlight, we're actually seeing a mix of all these colors combined. Red light has longer wavelengths, and
as we move through the colors – orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet – the wavelengths get shorter. Think of
it like a series of waves, where red waves are bigger, and violet waves are smaller. Our eyes are like detectors that can
pick up these different wavelengths, and when light waves hit our eyes, our brains see them as different colors. So,
when we talk about red or blue shifts in space, it's like saying the light waves from stars or galaxies have stretched or
squeezed, changing the colors we see, and that helps scientists learn cool things about the universe!

The redshift of light is a cool thing in space that helps scientists understand how our universe is changing. Imagine
you're at a parade, and as the parade floats move away from you, the sound of the music changes – it gets lower. Well,
a similar thing happens with light from stars and galaxies in space. When they move away from us, the light they give
off also changes, but instead of getting lower in sound, it shifts to the "redder" side of colors. This change in light color
is what scientists call a red shift. It's like a cosmic clue telling us that the universe is getting bigger. So, when scientists
see this red shift, they know that things in space are moving away, and it helps them learn more about how the
universe is growing and changing over time.

On the other hand, there's also something called a blue shift. Just like the red shift happens when things move away, a
blue shift occurs when things come closer to us in space. Picture a speeding car approaching you – the sound of its
engine gets higher in pitch. In the same way, when stars or galaxies move closer to us, their light shifts toward the
"bluer" side of colors, and scientists call this a blue shift. Both red and blue shifts are like cosmic speedometers helping
scientists figure out how fast things are moving in our vast universe.

By studying these shifts, scientists can uncover more secrets about the motions and patterns of objects in space, giving
us a better understanding of the incredible dance of celestial bodies in the grand cosmic ballet.

Example: Light Source being emitted from Earth has a spectrum at 550 nm as seen below

Red shift Blue shift

If the same light source was emitting light hundreds of If the same light source was emitting light hundreds of
light years away and the light was moving away from light years away and the light was moving towards earth,
earth, the light would be shifted towards the red side of the light would be shifted towards the blue side of the
the spectrum (towards 700 nm, which corresponds to spectrum (towards 500 nm, which corresponds to blue
red light). light).

The shift in spectra is directly related to the velocity of the light source. greater shift = larger velocity. Scientists can
use this shift in spectra to calculate the velocity of the light source (star, galaxy,nebula, etc)

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 Unit 5 Assignment: Calculating redshift and distance of a galaxy with spectral data from a supernova

Assignment 1: Red and Blue Shifts

Below is the absorption spectrum from our sun
and four absorption spectrums from other stars.
Read the red or blue shift of light and answer
the questions below using the information from
the absorption spectrums below.

1. Which star is closest to Earth? Explain

your answer.

2. Which star is moving towards Earth?

Explain your answer.

3. Which star is moving away from Earth

with the greatest velocity? Explain your
answer.

The absorption spectrum from the sun is shown below.

4. Star S and T are moving away from earth but T is moving at a much greater velocity than S. Draw where you
would expect the 3 absorption lines to show up in spectrum S and T.

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Assignment 2: Calculating velocity from the red and blue shifts

Use the equation below to calculate the relative velocity. Read Additional Helpful Tips & Tricks for an
example to help solve the problems below:

Supernova #1: The unshifted wavelength of light is 575 nm. The spectrum of the light from the supernova is shifted to
a wavelength of 567 nm.
a) Is this supernova moving towards or away from earth? Explain your answer.

b) What is the relative velocity of this supernova? Show work below

_______________ km/sec

Problem # 2
Supernova #2: The unshifted wavelength of light is 500 nm. The spectrum of the light front he supernova is shifted to
a wavelength of 512 nm.

a) Is this nebula moving towards or away from earth? Explain your answer.

b) What is the relative velocity of this nebula? Show work below

_______________ km/sec

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Assignment 3: The Keck II telescope
The Keck II telescope on the peak of Mauna Kea in Hawaii collected the spectra data from a supernova gamma-ray
burst released in the Galaxy GRB980703

Below is a data table containing wavelengths of light for three different spectral lines. The normal wavelength of light
is found by observing this light as if you were observing the light on Earth.

Spectral line Normal Wavelength Keck II spectrum wavelength Calculate redshift

λ0 λ λ−λ0
λ0

3727

4101

4340

1. The image below shows the red shift wavelength (𝞴) for the three spectral lines when observed light from the
GRB980703 galaxy . Find the three spectral lines in the diagram below and record the wavelength in the
spectral line in the Kleck II Spectrum wavelength column and then use the equation to calculate the redshift of
light from the GRB980703 galaxy in the next column.
example: if you were recording the wavelength of Mg II, you would record 5500 in the data table.

2. Calculate the average redshift of the supernova that produced the gamma burst released in the Galaxy
GRB980703. You will use the data that you calculated in the last column of the data table (calculate redshift) to
find the average redshift for this galaxy.

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 _____________
3. Use the speed of light to find the velocity that this galaxy is moving away from Earth.

Velocity = speed of light x average redshift

V = C × average redshift

V = what you are solving

C = 300,000 km/sec

Redshift = average redshift

____________Km/sec

4. Use Hubble’s Law to find the distance in Megaparsecs from Earth and Galaxy GRB980703.

Distance = velocity
H0

Distance = what you are calculating

Velocity: calculated in the previous problem

H0 = 70 km/sec/Megaparsecs

_______________ Megaparsecs

5. Convert the distance in Megaparsecs to light years

1 megaparsecs = 3.26 × 106 light year

or
1 megaparsecs = 3,260,000 light year

_______________ light years

6. Convert the distance from light years to miles

1 light year = 5.879 x 1012 miles

_______________ miles
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