Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An increase in the wavelength of radiation emitted by a celestial body as a consequence of the Doppler effect.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun astronomy
Light spectra shifted towards red, as by elongation of light waves from a source moving away from the detector.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun (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
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[From the fact that the longer wavelengths of light are at the red end of the visible spectrum.]
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Examples
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bilby commented on the word red shift
yellow shift
September 1, 2008