On the Automatic Analysis of Stellar Sp ectra A thesis submitted for the degree of Do ctor of Philosophy by Christopher Winter, B.Eng. Armagh Observatory Armagh, Northern Ireland & Faculty of Science and Agriculture Department of Pure and Applied Physics The Queen's University of Belfast Belfast, Northern Ireland March 2006 "Quia non erit impossibile apud Deum omne verbum" To Stacey "Qui invenit mulierem invenit bonum et hauriet iucunditatem a Domino" Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge and thank