Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra, It is relatively close at only 25 light-years from the Sun. Vega was the first star other than the Sun to be photographed and the first to have its spectrum recorded. Vega's spectral class is A0V, making it a blue-tinged white main sequence star that is fusing hydrogen to helium in its core. Since more massive stars use their fusion fuel more quickly than smaller ones, Vega's main-sequence lifetime is roughly one billion years, a tenth of the Sun's. The current age of this star is about 455 million years. After leaving the main sequence, Vega will become a class-M red giant and shed much of its mass, finally becoming a white dwarf. The visual spectrum of Vega is dominated by absorption lines of hydrogen; specifically by the hydrogen Balmer series.The lines of other elements are relatively weak, with the strongest being ionized magnesium, iron, and chromium. Using a good quality diffraction grating we can not only photograph its spectrum but also we can analyse the spectrum and find out its spectral type and other properties of the star. For example the Hydrogen Balmer (beta) absorption line at 4861 Angstroms is the strongest for the Type A star which is very evident in this image of the spectrum.This particular Hydrogen transition isn’t as prevalent in the hotter or cooler stars.
Star Analyser 100 (Patonhawksley) - Canon 6D - Edge HD11" Exp: 1/3 sec ISO:800 R.spec software.
Mleiha, UAE
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