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Homework #4 Solutions
•Q5: You identify the Balmer series absorption lines in the spectrum of a hot type O star, but notice that the lines are shifted from their laboratory wavelengths. For instance, H-beta, normally seen at 486 nm appears at 488 nm. What can you deduce about the motion of this star relative to Earth? USE THE DOPPLER EQ:
–v/c = (λobs/λrest) – 1;
–v/c = (488/486) – 1 = 0.004115
–V = 0.004 x 300,000 km/s = 1200 km/s toward us