This gallery contains visible light spectra of stars. I obtained the spectra by placing an RSpec diffraction grating onto the back end of 8-11" telescopes, recording the diffracted light directly, and creating a light intensity vs. wavelength spectrum using the RSpec software. What can be learned by doing this? Well, the measured spectra can be used to determine the chemical makeup of a star's atmosphere as well as it's surface temperature (and hence it's Spectral Type on the HR diagram). It's an extremely powerful and relatively easy to do technique that is really lots of fun. In this gallery are dozens of spectra of stars ranging in Temperature from about 3,000-30,000 degrees.
