In this section, you will observe the spectrum of a star and will calculate the temperature of the star using Wien’s Law. 

Excerise

Using Wien’s law, you can calculate the temperature of a black body emitter if you know the peak wavelength. Wien’s law is where the ‘K’ and ‘m' are units of Kelvin and meters.

1.  Open the spectrum of your observed star.  (Can we smooth the spectrum of the star to make this easier?) At what wavelength is the light from the star brightest?
2. Calculate the temperature of the bulb using Wien’s Law. Show your work.
3. The surface temperature of the Sun is 5800 K. Compare your answer for the temperature of the star to the surface temperature of the Sun.