composition
Absorption of light by a hydrogen atom. a When a hydrogen atom absorbs a photon of light, an electron is excited to an orbit that has a higher energy and larger value of n. b Images of the emission and absorption spectra of hydrogen are shown here. Emission and absorption spectra form the basis of spectroscopy, which uses spectra to provide information about the structure and the composition of a substance or an object. In particular, astronomers use emission and absorption spectra to determine the composition of stars and interstellar matter. As an example, consider the spectrum of sunlight shown in Figure 6.14 "The Visible Spectrum of Sunlight". Because the sun is very hot, the light it emits is in.