Blackbody radiation is the term used to describe the dependence of the radiation energy em...

Blackbody radiation is the term used to describe the dependence of the radiation energy emitted by an object on wavelength at a certain temperature. Planck proposed the quantum theory to account for the dependence. Shown in the figure is a plot of the radiation energy emitted by our sun versus wavelength. This curve is characteristic of objects at about 6000 K, which is the temperature at the surface of the sun. At a higher temperature, the curve has a similar shape but the maximum will shift to a shorter wavelength. (a) What does this curve reveal about two consequences of great biological significance on Earth? (b) How are astronomers able to determine the temperature at the surface of stars in general?