spectroscopy

Using light spectra to reveal chemical makeup and physical properties of distant objects.

Articles about spectroscopy

Environment
Neon Animals: What UV Light Reveals

Neon Animals: What UV Light Reveals
Ultraviolet light is exposing a hidden layer of colour across the animal kingdom — from scorpions and flying squirrels to platypuses and reef fish — and scientists are racing to e…
Science
Hipparchus’s Lost Star Map Recovered

Hipparchus’s Lost Star Map Recovered
Researchers at SLAC/Stanford used powerful X-ray beams to read hidden Greek astronomical notes beneath a medieval palimpsest, recovering star coordinates from Hipparchus—the oldes…
Space
Europa Clipper Eyes 3I/ATLAS

Europa Clipper Eyes 3I/ATLAS
NASA’s Europa Clipper and other spacecraft have returned ultraviolet views of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, validating flight hardware and mapping gas and dust while coordinate…
Space
SPHEREx Maps Sky in 102 Infrared Colors

SPHEREx Maps Sky in 102 Infrared Colors
NASA's SPHEREx mission has completed a full-sky survey in 102 infrared bands, producing a multilayered cosmic atlas that scientists say can turn a flat star chart into a 3D map of…
Space
Webb May Have Spotted the First Stars

Webb May Have Spotted the First Stars
New JWST spectra have highlighted a handful of ultra‑distant, compact objects whose light matches predictions for hypothetical dark‑matter‑powered 'dark stars' — but the signal is…
Space
Watch NASA Reveal Images of 3I/ATLAS

Watch NASA Reveal Images of 3I/ATLAS
NASA will host a live briefing on Nov. 19, 2025 to release new images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Here’s when to tune in, what instruments produced the pictures, and what …
Science
Musk: 3I/ATLAS Could Threaten Humanity

Musk: 3I/ATLAS Could Threaten Humanity
Elon Musk warned on a recent podcast that the interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS—while almost certainly not aimed at Earth—would be catastrophic if it ever struck the planet. Scientist…