Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Each element leaves dark lines at fixed wavelengths. The figure is taken from NASA Science, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a space fact?

Yes. It sits on the Space shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Splitting starlight reveals what a star is made of

Each element leaves dark lines at fixed wavelengths Absorption lines mark where cooler gas above the stellar surface absorbs specific colours. Astronomers compare those patterns with laboratory spectra to read composition and temperature. Helium was found this way in the Sun before it was found on Earth. It sits in Mondo's space collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

NASA Science

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Science trivia

More facts like this

Wobbling starlight reveals unseen planetsA star's tiny back and forth motion shifts its spectral lines The observable universe contains septillions of starsAstronomers estimate there are more stars in space than sand grains on Earth Proxima Centauri is the closest star to our solar systemThe red dwarf star sits roughly four point two light-years away from Earth Brown dwarfs are failed stars that cannot sustain core nuclear fusionSubstellar objects bridge the evolutionary gap between giant gas planets and stars A light year is 9.461 trillion kilometresIt measures distance, not time, and the nearest star is over four away A parsec is a parallax measurement, not a timeIt is the distance at which Earth's orbit subtends one arcsecond

Tags: spectroscopy, stars, chemistry

Splitting starlight reveals what a star is made of: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Each element leaves dark lines at fixed wavelengths. The figure is taken from NASA Science, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a space fact?: Yes. It sits on the Space shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.