Astronomy  the Doppler Effectthe Doppler Effect

Because of the Doppler Effect, light emitted by an object can appear to change wavelength
due to its motion toward or away from an observer.  When the observer and the source of
light are moving toward each other the light is shifted to shorter wavelength s (blueshifted).
When the observer and the source of light are moving away from each other the light is
shifted to longer wavelengths (redshifted).

Part I. Motion of Source

1)   Consider the   situations shown (a   –   d) .

a.   In which situation will   the observer receive light that is shifted to shorter
wavelengths?

b.   Will this light be blueshifted or redshifted?

c.   What direction is the star moving relative to the observer?

2)   Consider the   situations shown (a   –   d).

a.   In which si tuation will   the observer receive light that is shifted to longer
wavelengths?

b.   Will this light be blueshifted or redshifted?

c.   What direction is the star moving relative to the observer?
a)
b)
c)
d)

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3)   In which of the situations shown (a  –   d) will the observer receive  light that is not shifted
at all?  Explain your reasoning.

4)   Imagine our solar system is moving in the Milky Way toward a group of three stars.  Star
A is a blue star that is slightly closer to us than the other three.  Star B is a red star that
is farthe st away from us.  Star C is a yellow star that is halfway between Stars A and B.

a.   Which of these three stars, if any, will give off light that appears to be
blueshifted?  Explain your reasoning.

b.   Which of these three stars, if any, will give off light that appears to be redshifted?
Explain your reasoning.

c.   Which of these three stars, if any, will give off light that appears to have no shift?
Explain your reasoning.

5)   You overhear two students discussing the topic of Doppler shifts.

Student 1:   Since  Betelgeuse is a red star, it must be going away from us, and since
Rigel is a blue star it must be coming towards us.
Student 2:   I disagree, the color of the star does not tell you if it is moving.  You have to
look at the shift in wavelength of  the   lines  in the  star’s  absorption spectrum  to
determine whether it’s moving towards or away from you.

Do you agree with Student 1, Student 2, neither or both? Why or why not?

Part II. Shift in Absorption Spectra

When we study an astronomical object like a star  or galaxy, we examine the spectrum of
light it gives off. Since the lines of a spectrum occur at specific wavelengths we can
determine that an object is moving when we see that the lines have been shifted to either
longer or shorter wavelengths.  For the  absorption line spectra shown  on the next page ,
short wavelength light (the blue end of the spectrum)  is shown on the left – hand side and
long wavelength light (the red end of the spec t rum)  is shown on the right – hand side.

For the three absorption line spectra shown  below   ( A ,  B   and  C ), one of the spectra
corresponds to a star that is not moving relative to you, one of the  spectra is from a star that
is moving towards you and one  of the  spectra is from a star that is moving away from you.

Blue               Red

6)   Which of the three spectra  above , corresponds with the star moving toward you?
Explain your reasoning.

7)   Which of the three spectra, corresponds with the star moving away from you?  Explain
your reasoning.

Part III. Size of Shift and Speed

If two sources of light are moving relative to
an observer, the  light from the star that is
moving faster will appear to undergo a greater
Doppler Shift.

Consider the four spectra at right. The
spectrum labeled F   is an absorption line
spectr um from a star that is at rest.  Again,
note that short wavelength (blue )   light is
shown on the left – hand side of each spectrum
and  long wavelength ( red )   light is shown on
the right – hand side of each spectrum.

8)   Which of the four spectra would be from
the star that is moving the fastest?  Would
this star be moving toward or away form the observer?

9)   Which of the four spectra would be from the star that is moving the slowest?  Describe
the motion of this star.

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
10) An important line in the absorption spectrum of stars occurs at a wavelength of 656 nm
for stars at rest.  Imagine that you observe five stars (H – L) from Earth and discover that
this important  absorption line is measured at the wavelength shown in the table below
for each of the five stars.

Star   Wavelength of Absorption Line
H   649 nm
I   660 nm
J   656 nm
K   658 nm
L   647 nm

a.   Which of the stars are giving off light that appears blueshifted?  Explain your
reasoning.

b.   Which of the stars are giving off light that appears redshifted?  Explain your
reas oning.

c.   Which of the stars are giving off light that appears shifted by the greatest
amount?  Is this light shifted to longer or shorter wavelengths?  Explain your
reasoning.

d.   Which star is moving the fastest?  Is it moving toward or away from the
observer?  Explain your reasoning.

11) The figure at right shows a space probe and five planets.  The motion of the space probe
is indicated by the arrow.  The space probe is continuously broadcasting a radio signal in
all directions.

a.   Which planets will receive a radio signal that is
redshifted?  Explain your reasoning.

b.   Which planets will receive a radio signal that is
shifted to shorter wavelengths?  Explain your
reasoning.

A
B
C
E
!
not to scale
D
Doppler Shift

c.   Will all the planets receive radio signals from the space probe that are Doppler
shifted?  Explain your reasoning.

d.   How will the Doppler shift in the radio signals detected at planets A and B
compare?  Explain your reasoning.

e.   How will the Doppler shift in the radio signals detected at planets E  and B
compare?  Explain your  reasoning.