Space Observations | Experiment 2 - Doppler Effect: How can waves measure the distance and speed of objects?
Experiment 2
Doppler Effect: How can waves measure the distance and speed of objects?
Purpose/Hypothesis
Astronomers use the Doppler effect to determine whether an object in space is moving towards or away from Earth and how fast it is moving. However, the Doppler effect was first discovered using sound waves, not light waves. The perception of both light and sound is from the waves emitted. Waves coming from an object moving away from an observer have a lower frequency than those from an object moving toward the observer.
In sound, pitch is determined by how many waves per second reach the ear. The more sound waves a person hears, the higher the pitch. When an object moves toward a person, it takes less and less time for each wave to reach the person. The waves crowd together. The person gets more waves per second and it results in an increase in...
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