hand-colored poster of various stellar spectra
Date: 1880-1900
Inventory Number: 1998-1-1200
Classification: Poster
Subject:
Maker: George André Lenoir (1825 - 1909)
Cultural Region:
Place of Origin:
Dimensions:
0.9 x 107 x 74.6 cm (3/8 x 42 1/8 x 29 3/8 in.)
Material:
Description:
Hand-colored poster of four stellar spectra with Fraunhofer spectrum (solar spectrum) at the top for comparison. The first two charts after the Fraunhofer spectrum give the spectral lines of the stars Aldebaran and Betelgeuse. Each spectrum has a series of darkened lines of uneven spaces and thicknesses. These lines are labeled with element symbols.
The next spectrum is of a new star, T, in the constellation Corona Borealis. Below this spectrum is a narrower band of the spectral lines of hydrogen and sodium, for comparison's sake.
The final spectrum is that of a nebula (37H) in the constellation Draco. This is compared with a narrower band of hydrogen, barium, and nitrogen, for comparison purposes.
Below this is a series of letters corresponding to the letters at the top, that is, the lines of the Fraunhofer spectrum.
The scale runs from 800 to 1900, with tick marks at every interval of ten and numbers at every interval of 100.
The next spectrum is of a new star, T, in the constellation Corona Borealis. Below this spectrum is a narrower band of the spectral lines of hydrogen and sodium, for comparison's sake.
The final spectrum is that of a nebula (37H) in the constellation Draco. This is compared with a narrower band of hydrogen, barium, and nitrogen, for comparison purposes.
Below this is a series of letters corresponding to the letters at the top, that is, the lines of the Fraunhofer spectrum.
The scale runs from 800 to 1900, with tick marks at every interval of ten and numbers at every interval of 100.
Signedat foot of chart: Eigenthum und Verlag von George André Lenoir / Besitzer der Fabrik und Handlung chemischer pharmaceutischer physikalisches Apparate von G.A. Lenoir in Wien
Inscribedtop right-hand corner: Tafel III
at head of chart: Stern Spectraltafel nach der Originalzeichnung von William Huggins F.R.S. / und Professor W. Allen Miller F.R.S.
above first spectrum (unevenly spaced): C D E b F G
on scale above each spectrum (evenly spaced): 800 900 1000 1100 ... 1900
next to second spectrum from top: Spectrum von Aldebaran (alpha Tauri)
next to third spectrum from top: Spectrum von / Betelgeuze / (alpha Orionis)
next to fourth spectrum from top: Spectrum des / neuen Sternes T / in der Krone / (T. Coronae Borealis) / gesehen am 16. Mai 1866 / verglichen mit den Spec- / trum von Wasserstoff.
under fourth spectrum from top, under colored points on secondary spectrum: H Na H
next to fifth spectrum from top: Spectrum des / Nebelfleckes 37 H / (IV. Draconis) / verglichen mit den Spec- / trum von Wasserstoff / Barium und Stickstoff.
under fifth spectrum from top, under colored points on secondary spectrum, in small letters: N Ba H
under fifth spectrum from top, under colored points on secondary spectrum, in large letters: C D E b F G
under left-hand corner of fifth spectrum: Art. lith. Anst. v. Ast. Hartinger & Sohn in Wien
under right-hand corner of fifth spectrum: Mit Vorbehalt jeder Art Nachdruck
at head of chart: Stern Spectraltafel nach der Originalzeichnung von William Huggins F.R.S. / und Professor W. Allen Miller F.R.S.
above first spectrum (unevenly spaced): C D E b F G
on scale above each spectrum (evenly spaced): 800 900 1000 1100 ... 1900
next to second spectrum from top: Spectrum von Aldebaran (alpha Tauri)
next to third spectrum from top: Spectrum von / Betelgeuze / (alpha Orionis)
next to fourth spectrum from top: Spectrum des / neuen Sternes T / in der Krone / (T. Coronae Borealis) / gesehen am 16. Mai 1866 / verglichen mit den Spec- / trum von Wasserstoff.
under fourth spectrum from top, under colored points on secondary spectrum: H Na H
next to fifth spectrum from top: Spectrum des / Nebelfleckes 37 H / (IV. Draconis) / verglichen mit den Spec- / trum von Wasserstoff / Barium und Stickstoff.
under fifth spectrum from top, under colored points on secondary spectrum, in small letters: N Ba H
under fifth spectrum from top, under colored points on secondary spectrum, in large letters: C D E b F G
under left-hand corner of fifth spectrum: Art. lith. Anst. v. Ast. Hartinger & Sohn in Wien
under right-hand corner of fifth spectrum: Mit Vorbehalt jeder Art Nachdruck
FunctionSpectrum charts were used as references to identify chemical elements by their spectral lines. This chart is based on the work of the amateur astronomer and spectroscopy pioneer William Huggins and his assistant, William Allen Miller, in the early 1860s. The possibility of determining the elements present in stars by measuring their spectra opened up after Kirchhoff and Bunsen, in a groundbreaking experiment, established that metals emitted distinct spectra independent of the compound they were part of (e.g., sulfates, chlorides, carbonates), the heat at which they were burned, or the method by which they were burned.
Huggins and Miller measured the spectra of stars and the sun by refracting the light through an apparatus that included a prism and a narrow slit. The spectrum would project on a scale with which the distance of the spectral lines from one another would be measured. Huggins would compare those spectral lines from the light of the stars with the lines of particular elements, such as sodium. Huggins's later observations used photographic plates, in front of which were two slits, one on top, one on the bottom, through which different spectra could pass. Often the spectrum of the star would be taken through one slit at night and the solar spectrum taken through the other slit during the day.
The stellar spectra are absorption spectra created through the absorption of light from the elements in the star. The nebular spectra are emissions spectra from the emissions of gases in the nebulae. Huggins was surprised when he saw that the nebular spectra consisted of just a few bright lines and concluded from that observation that the nebulae were luminous gases rather than bunches of stars.
Huggins and Miller measured the spectra of stars and the sun by refracting the light through an apparatus that included a prism and a narrow slit. The spectrum would project on a scale with which the distance of the spectral lines from one another would be measured. Huggins would compare those spectral lines from the light of the stars with the lines of particular elements, such as sodium. Huggins's later observations used photographic plates, in front of which were two slits, one on top, one on the bottom, through which different spectra could pass. Often the spectrum of the star would be taken through one slit at night and the solar spectrum taken through the other slit during the day.
The stellar spectra are absorption spectra created through the absorption of light from the elements in the star. The nebular spectra are emissions spectra from the emissions of gases in the nebulae. Huggins was surprised when he saw that the nebular spectra consisted of just a few bright lines and concluded from that observation that the nebulae were luminous gases rather than bunches of stars.
Curatorial Remarkscard at bottom left of frame reads: Spectraltafel nach der Originalzeichnung / Von G. Kirchhoff und R. Bunsen / Tafel I / The above plate placed under Tafel III in this frame [4/25/58?] DW