REDSHIFT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does redshift mean? 

• REDSHIFT (noun)
  The noun REDSHIFT has 1 sense:

1. (astronomy) a shift in the spectra of very distant galaxies toward longer wavelengths (toward the red end of the spectrum); generally interpreted as evidence that the universe is expanding

  Familiarity information: REDSHIFT used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REDSHIFT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(astronomy) a shift in the spectra of very distant galaxies toward longer wavelengths (toward the red end of the spectrum); generally interpreted as evidence that the universe is expanding

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

red shift; redshift

Hypernyms ("redshift" is a kind of...):

propagation (the movement of a wave through a medium)

Domain category:

astronomy; uranology (the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole)

 Context examples 

The higher the redshift, the greater the distance, and the farther back astronomers are looking in time when they observe the object.

(Most Distant Black Hole, NASA)

Astronomers call this passing pitch the “redshift” when measuring how quickly gases move toward an object away from Earth.

(Astronomers Study How Quasars Are Powered by Accretion Disks, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This newly discovered quasar has a redshift of 7.54, based on the detection of ionized carbon emissions from the galaxy that hosts the massive black hole.

(Most Distant Black Hole, NASA)

The quasar's distance is determined by what's called its redshift, a measurement of how much the wavelength of its light is stretched by the expansion of the universe before reaching Earth.

(Most Distant Black Hole, NASA)