A longstanding problem in research conducted at high pressures is the measurement of melting temperatures. Physical properties, including elastic, electrical, deformation, chemical, and thermal properties, are vastly different in melts when compared to solids of the same composition. The melting behavior of minerals is therefore necessary to understanding the evolution of planets including the Earth throughout time and space. However, measurements of high-pressure melting curves often differ by several 100s to 1000s of degrees. To understand and correct divergent melting temperatures, the absorption of relevant planetary materials will be measured and used to improve melting curves by considering optical properties in temperature determination. This project will develop an open-source, user-friendly toolkit and database for the high-pressure community to use in correcting temperature measurements to address a major source of discrepant values. This project will support a postdoctoral researcher and several undergraduate students, who will gain the skills and knowledge to further our understanding of the Earth. The proposed project combines a theoretical framework which considers wavelength-dependent absorption of samples and its effect on thermal emission as well as measurements of relevant planetary materials’ optical properties at extreme conditions. A graphical user interface (GUI) toolkit incorporating wavelength-dependent absorption, temperature gradients, and