title: Spectroscopy and astronomy: H3+ from the laboratory to the Galactic center.
abstract: Since the serendipitous discovery of the Fraunhofer spectrum in the Sun in 1814 which initiated spectroscopy and astrophysics, spectroscopy developed hand in hand with astronomy. I discuss my own work on the infrared spectrum of H3+ from its discovery in the laboratory in 1980, in interstellar space in 1996, to recent studies in the Galactic center as an example of astronomical spectroscopy. Its spin-off, the spectroscopy of simple molecular ions, is also briefly discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Enrico Fermi Institute, the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. t-oka@uchicago.edu
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oka
mesh_terms: D001256:Astronomy / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods*; D019443:Cosmic Dust / Q000032:analysis; D055608:Galaxies / Q000737:chemistry; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007477:Ions / Q000737:chemistry*; D011522:Protons; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods*; D014316:Tritium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D019443:Cosmic Dust; D007477:Ions; D011522:Protons; D014316:Tritium