Reading the Rainbow

In this hands-on activity, we introduce students to the fundamentals of analyzing light and spectra, or spectroscopy. Using images from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), students will undertsand that stars appear different colours. But why? Analysing a variety of light sources with a spectroscope, they will understand that the colour of an object emitting its own light relates either to the temperature of the object or its composition. Students will then apply these simple observations to astronomical objects in the orginal HST images, such as stars and nebulae.