Starry Night on May 18

AIP invites to the next Starry Night in Babelsberg on Thursday, May 18, starting at 7:15pm with a public lecture of apl. Prof. Dr. Carsten Denker about "Spectroscopy as a window to the universe". Please note that the lecture will be given in German.
Starry Night on May 18

Solar spectrum covering the visible range between the ultra violet and the near infrared. Absorption of chemical elements within the solar atmosphere causes the vertical dark lines. Image by: Carsten Denker

The history of astronomy and astrophysics goes along with the development of ever more powerful telescopes and instruments. Spectroscopy has proven itself to be one of the most important methods. In the course of time, researchers were able to filter increasingly more detailed physical information from the light of stars with spectroscopy.

 

The talk will begin with a historical overview of spectroscopic instruments and methods. Carsten Denker will especially introduce the historical facilities on the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam, the Great Refractor and the Einstein Tower, and typical instruments such as prism and grating spectrographs. Furthermore, he describes how these basic instrument concepts inspired a new generation of spectrographs in operation at the German solar telescopes on Tenerife or on space missions. Besides spectroscopic studies in the visible range, other wavelength ranges will be explored as well, covering the electromagnetic spectrum from extreme ultraviolet to infrared.

We look forward to your visit!

Free entry, no previous registration necessary.

Location: AIP, An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam