redshift
/ˈrɛdʃɪft/
Definition
The phenomenon where light from an object moving away from the observer is stretched to longer, redder wavelengths due to the expansion of the Universe.
Etymology
The word is a compound of 'red' and 'shift,' reflecting the physical effect of light shifting toward the red end of the electromagnetic spectrum. It emerged in the early 20th century as astronomers began observing the Doppler effect on light from distant galaxies.
In the news
In this article, redshift is used as a crucial metric to determine the distance of galaxies, which helps astronomers map the expansion of the Universe and study dark energy. The new CIGaRS framework allows scientists to estimate these values accurately using simple images rather than complex spectroscopy.
Millions of exploding stars could soon reveal dark energy's secrets
Read the full article ↗ScienceDaily