British physicist Brian Cox hosts this beautifully produced 4-minute video that explores how astronomers use emission spectra to determine the composition of stars. Appropriate as an elicitation exercise or for students who may need extra help comprehending the basic idea of star spectra.

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If your students are unclear about the connection between quantization and emission/absorption of light, they should gain understanding after watching this short video from the College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley. The video also provides a very visual way to differentiate emission from absorption spectra.

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High school physics teacher Paul Anderson gives an easy-to-understand explanation of what happens when a photon is absorbed or emitted from an atomic nucleus. He connects the process with conservation of energy, then demonstrates using a PhET simulation to model emission and absorption spectra. (5-minute video)

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This interactive lets students view the image creation of the Eagle Nebula, beginning with raw image data from Hubble's four cameras, which each produce images with four filters. The filters take images in the wavelength band of hydrogen atoms, sulfur atoms with one electron removed (sulfur ions), and oxygen atoms with two electrons removed (doubly ionized oxygen). The fourth filter sees only starlight. The four images are put together using a mapping system that resembles a mosaic. Finally, different coloration is added to each image type to create the fully processed photograph. NOTE! The interactive version of this resource is no longer accessible, but the images and text can still be viewed.

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