The English astronomer Sir William Huggins (1824-1910) pioneered in applying the techniques of spectrum analysis, or spectroscopy, to the study of the stars.

William Huggins was born in London on Feb. 7, 1824, to a family of considerable means. Educated by tutors and under no obligation to earn a living, he occupied his early years with the study of physics, chemistry, and physiology. Only in 1856 did his interests settle on astronomy, and upon building a private observatory during that same year at Tulse Hill, South London, he began making routine types of observations. Then, in 1859, Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen published their epochal interpretation of spectral lines, according to which each of the chemical elements emits and absorbs light of various characteristic frequencies. Huggins became one of the small band of astronomers who utilized this discovery to forge a new branch of science--astrophysics.

Much of the early spectroscopy work concerned...