Early astronomical spectroscopy

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One of the earliest Illustrations of Solar and Sidereal Spectra (from an 1878 article "Chemistry of Heavenly Bodies" by Dr. J. Gladstone). From the top they are - Spectrum of the Sun; its Chromosphere; Uranus; Winnecke's comet 1868; Sirius; Alpha Oriensis; Coronae Borealis; Nebulae showing 3 bright lines ; Red prominences of the sun; D line absorption bands of sodium in Sun Spots; and Displacement of the bright lines of the Chromosphere. William Huggins saw that spectroscopy offered a new astronomical research tool. In 1864 he built an astronomical spectroscope and pioneered this new branch of astronomy which led to the science of astro-physics. His spectral analyzes showed that all the stars he analyzed contained the same elements as the Earth and that their changes in magnitude were due to physical processes. He showed that comets were gaseous"

Sheila Terry / Science Source

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