Students analyze spectral data of a star over time and measure the shift of absorption lines to determine its radial velocity. They model the periodic variation of this velocity as the effect of an orbiting companion using a sinusoidal function. From this model, they infer the presence and estimate the mass of an exoplanet, linking observations, modelling, and physical laws.
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Big Ideas
Astronomy is a science that studies celestial objects and phenomena in the Universe
Cosmology is the science of exploring the Universe as a whole
We may not be alone in the Universe
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