26 April 2023: A Stargazer’s guide to Spectroscopy

Since the dawn of time, humans have looked to the stars to find meaning behind our existence, and

to unlock scientific secrets. Today, astronomy and astrophysics are broad terms that encompass the

study of the sky using photometry, spectroscopy, and polarimetry of the whole electromagnetic

spectrum of light. This talk covers the history of astronomical spectroscopy and how it lets us

understand the structure of stars and galaxies. The talk will also look at how spectropolarimetry, the

study of polarised light, is being used in astrophysical research to understand the behaviour of

distant, jet emitting galaxies, along with prospects for the new Boyden Spectrograph.