Wilhelm von Fraunhofer

Wilhelm von Fraunhofer was a 19th-century German scientist and engineer known for his work in optics and spectroscopy. He improved the design of the spectroscope, an instrument used to analyze light, allowing scientists to identify the specific wavelengths of light emitted by different sources. His most famous contribution is discovering and studying dark lines in the solar spectrum, now called Fraunhofer lines, which helped scientists better understand the composition of the Sun and other stars. These insights laid the groundwork for modern astrophysics and our understanding of atomic and molecular structures.