Doppler Shift Interactive (70.0K)
Here we will use radio waves to study the motions of nearby objects, in this case the rotation of planet Venus, always hidden from direct visual observation by a thick veil of sulfuric acid clouds. But radio waves can penetrate the map the surface.
Since 1995 we have used the Doppler Shift to detect planets orbiting other stars. The first instance of this, the finding of a "hot Jupiter" orbiting 51 Pegasi, rocked the scientific establishment.
Few principles in science are applied on as varied a scale as the Doppler Principle. Since vast clouds of dust hide about 90% of the Milky Way from us visually, we must rely on radio observations of Doppler shifts in the hydrogen clouds to map the layout of the spiral arms of the galaxy.
Few principles in science are applied on as varied a scale as the Doppler Principle. In the 1930's Edwin Hubble and Milton Humason used it to discover the expansion of the universe, setting the stage for the Big Bang Theory.
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