NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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  1. Question

    If astronomers can't travel to the stars yet, how do they know anything about them?

    There are many ways that scientists can learn about the universe although we remain here on Earth. Primarily, astronomers use the light from stars, collected by our telescopes. One important way to study this light is with a spectrometer that separates the wavelengths or colors of light. That way light can be analyzed to tell us the size, shape, motion, temperature, and chemical composition of a star. David Morrison
    NAI Senior Scientist

    November 29, 2005