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When a star is moving away from Earth, does the color of the star actually change? Explain - PLZZ HELP:)

User Maxhugen
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Answer:

Yes the color changes. If the star is moving away from the earth the color of the star is shifted towards red (red-shift).

This is similar to the change in sound from an approaching train whistle (higher pitch) or a receding train whistle (lower pitch) - the Doppler Effect.

Note that the equations for the Doppler Effect for sound and for light are different - sound travels thru air but no such medium can be identified for light.

User Vincentsty
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