Spectroscopy with RSpec
Presenter(s): Stephen Broderick
Affiliation(s): St Ursula's College, Toowoomba QLD
Session details: Sunday, 2016-03-26 22:45:00, LT106
Abstract
Getting started in spectroscopy is now easy and inexpensive, thanks to the Star Analyser grating costing under $200. The Star Analyser attaches to a CCD camera and allows you to easily see the spectra of distant stars in real time. You can even use an unguided DSLR camera — no telescope needed. RSpec (“Hot product”, Sky & Telescope 2011) is the simple but powerful software program used to analyse spectra. Video tutorials explain step-by-step how to analyse and interpret the data contained in these spectra.
Some possible activities being presented in this session include:
- analysing the spectrum of the Sun, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn;
- making a soar spectrometer;
- detecting Neptune’s methane atmosphere;
- determining any star’s OBAFGKM star-type and temperature from its spectrum curve;
- identifying the composition of a star or nebula from its emission and absorption lines;
- detecting the cosmological red-shift of a distant quasar!
- measuring the blue-shift of a supernova’s expanding shell as it races towards us at millions of kilometres/hour.
Biography
Stephen Broderick has been teaching at St Ursula’s College in Toowoomba for 30 years as a mathematics and science teacher. His senior mathematics C classes have been doing a unit on Astronomy since 2005. He has been an amateur astronomer for 21 years and enjoys collecting and analyzing data. Stephen won a teacher scholarship in 2011 and worked at the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) in Sydney designing modules for use with the Parkes Radio Telescope. He has also run an Astro-science club at St Ursula’s College since 2003.