Solar Spectrum

The solar spectrum above was taken with a LHiRES III spectrograph and the image was recorded on a Canon 10D DSLR camera. Click on the image to enlarge. The dark lines, or gaps in the spectrum are Fraunhofer lines. The Fraunhofer lines form an absorption spectrum. The Sun emits a continuous blackbody spectrum, the maximum intensity of which is dependent on the Sun's surface temperature (5800 Kelvins). However, the Solar atmosphere absorbs light at certain wavelengths thereby removing part of the continuous sectrum.