AstronomyOnline.org
home observation science solar system stars our galaxy cosmology astrobiology exoplanets astrophotography
Science
icon Introduction
icon Astronomy Tools
Concepts
1. Electromagnetic Spectrum
2. Atmosphere Limitations
3. Space Observations
Equipment
1. Telescopes
2. Radio
3. Space Tools
4. Photography
5. Spectroscopy
6. Computers
7. Advanced Methods
8. Radio Astronomy
icon Basic Mathematics
Algebra
Statistics
Geometry
Scientific Notation
Log Scales
Calculus
icon Physics
Concepts
- Basic Units of Measure
- Mass & Density
- Temperature
- Velocity & Acceleration
- Force, Pressure & Energy
- Atoms
- Quantum Physics
- Nature of Light
Formulas
- Brightness
- Cepheid Rulers
- Distance
- Doppler Shift
- Frequency & Wavelength
- Hubble's Law
- Inverse Square Law
- Kinetic Energy
- Luminosity
- Magnitudes
- Convert Mass to Energy
- Kepler & Newton - Orbits
- Parallax
- Planck's Law
- Relativistic Redshift
- Relativity
- Schwarzschild Radius 
- Synodic & Sidereal Periods
- Sidereal Time
- Small Angle Formula
- Stellar Properties 
- Stephan-Boltzmann Law
- Telescope Related
- Temperature
- Tidal Forces
- Wien's Law
Constants
icon Computer Models
icon Additional Resources
1. Advanced Topics
2. Guest Contributions
Physics - Formulas - Doppler Shift

A Doppler shift is a phenomenon of a change in frequency based on the observers point of view. The most common analogy of this is standing on the side of the road and listen to a passing car. As the car approaches, there is a definitive sound. As the car passes, the sound changes to a lower frequency. This is called a Doppler Shift. There are two types of Doppler shifts:
  • Red-Shift or a shift of frequency to a lower wavelength (away from the observer)
  • Blue-Shift or a shift of frequency to a higher wavelength (toward the observer)

Anything that emits wavelengths - light, radio, gamma rays, and the rest of the E-M Band - and changes frequency due to movement, a Doppler shift can be measured. This is the equation:

By measuring the Doppler shift of an object, it is possible to measure the velocity of that object:

Back to Top

 


Search | Site Map | Appendix
©2004 - 2024 Astronomy Online. All rights reserved. Contact Us. Legal. Creative Commons License
The works within is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.