Location
Monmouth Museum
Lincroft, NJ
United States
See map: Google Maps
Date:
May 3, 2012 Our speaker for the evening will be Tom Field, whose talk is titled “Spectroscopy for Everyone!” Tom will present his talk via an internet connection. We will see Tom and his slides projected on the screen at the front of the room.
Spectroscopy is the art of analyzing the colorful rainbow spectrum that a device like a prism produces. Spectroscopy is the primary research tool used in modern astronomical research. However, until the last few years, spectroscopy has been too expensive and difficult for all but a few amateurs. Today, though, new tools make spectroscopy accessible to almost all of us. You no longer need a PhD, dark skies, long exposures, or enormous aperture! With your current telescope and camera (or even a simple web cam) you can now easily capture exciting spectra, including the atmosphere on Uranus or the red shift a quasar. This talk, with lots of interesting examples, will show you what it’s all about, help you understand how spectroscopy is used in research. And, it will show you how to get started.