Light Years, Red Shift and Blue Shift

Front

What is a light year?

Back

A light year is the distance that light travels in one year.

Front

What happens to the wavelength of light during redshift?

Back

The wavelength of light increases.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

NGSS.HS-PS4-1

Front

What does it mean if a star is 4.3 light years away?

Back

It means that the light from that star takes 4.3 years to reach Earth.

Front

What do we observe in the absorption spectra of galaxies that are moving away from us?

Back

We observe redshift.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

Front

What does redshift indicate about a galaxy's movement?

Back

Redshift indicates that the galaxy is moving away from us.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

Front

What is blueshift?

Back

Blueshift is the phenomenon where the wavelength of light decreases as an object moves closer.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-3

Front

How does the Doppler effect relate to redshift and blueshift?

Back

The Doppler effect explains how the frequency of waves changes due to the motion of the source relative to the observer.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

NGSS.HS-PS4-1

Front

What is the significance of redshift in astronomy?

Back

Redshift helps astronomers determine how fast galaxies are moving away and provides evidence for the expanding universe.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

Front

What is the relationship between distance and redshift?

Back

Generally, the greater the distance of a galaxy, the more redshifted its light appears.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

Front

What is the speed of light?

Back

The speed of light in a vacuum is approximately 299,792 kilometers per second.

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS4-1

NGSS.HS-PS4-3