Space exploration began with the launch of Sputnik and Astrophysics was born as the application of physics to the phenomena observed by Astronomy, which etymologically means laws of the stars.
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| Fraunhofer Lines |
The dark absorption lines in the spectrum of the Sun and, by extension, in the spectrum of
any star. Many of the stronger ones were first mapped by Joseph von Fraunhofer 1787-1826,
who also labelled some of the most prominent with letters of the alphabet. Some of these
identifying letters are still commonly used in physics and astronomy, notably the sodium
D lines and the calcium H and K lines.
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