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The Star-Spectroscope of the Lick Observatory in 1898. Designed by James Keeler and constructed by John Brashear.. Astronomical spectroscopy is the study of astronomy using the techniques of spectroscopy to measure the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, ultraviolet, X-ray, infrared and radio waves that radiate from stars and other celestial objects.
The SI unit of spectral radiance in frequency is the watt per steradian per square metre per hertz (W·sr −1 ·m −2 ·Hz −1) and that of spectral radiance in wavelength is the watt per steradian per square metre per metre (W·sr −1 ·m −3)—commonly the watt per steradian per square metre per nanometre (W·sr −1 ·m −2 ·nm −1).
Photometry is also used in the observation of variable stars, [4] by various techniques such as, differential photometry that simultaneously measures the brightness of a target object and nearby stars in the starfield [5] or relative photometry by comparing the brightness of the target object to stars with known fixed magnitudes. [6]
Spectroscopy is a branch of science concerned with the spectra of electromagnetic radiation as a function of its wavelength or frequency measured by spectrographic equipment, and other techniques, in order to obtain information concerning the structure and properties of matter. [4]
Radiance is the integral of the spectral radiance over all frequencies or wavelengths. For radiation emitted by the surface of an ideal black body at a given temperature, spectral radiance is governed by Planck's law, while the integral of its radiance, over the hemisphere into which its surface radiates, is given by the Stefan–Boltzmann law.
Spectral radiance Specific intensity L e,Ω,ν [nb 3] watt per steradian per square metre per hertz W⋅sr −1 ⋅m −2 ⋅Hz −1: M⋅T −2: Radiance of a surface per unit frequency or wavelength. The latter is commonly measured in W⋅sr −1 ⋅m −2 ⋅nm −1. This is a directional quantity. This is sometimes also confusingly called ...
Mathematically, for the spectral power distribution of a radiant exitance or irradiance one may write: =where M(λ) is the spectral irradiance (or exitance) of the light (SI units: W/m 2 = kg·m −1 ·s −3); Φ is the radiant flux of the source (SI unit: watt, W); A is the area over which the radiant flux is integrated (SI unit: square meter, m 2); and λ is the wavelength (SI unit: meter, m).
The integrals of spectral radiance (or specific intensity) with respect to solid angle, used above, are singular for exactly collimated beams, or may be viewed as Dirac delta functions. Therefore, the specific radiative intensity is unsuitable for the description of a collimated beam, while spectral flux density is suitable for that purpose. [ 18 ]