How can expert analysis distinguish between absorption lines caused by the star itself and those caused by intervening interstellar dust?
Answer
By checking the spectral lines against known Doppler shifts
Expert analysis requires carefully checking the spectral lines against known Doppler shifts; if a line shows a different shift (e.g., the star is red-shifted but a faint line is not), the observer knows the absorption causing that specific line is local (interstellar dust) rather than stellar.
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