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Cepheid variable

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.

Cepheid variable

One of a class of variable stars whose period of variation is closely related to its luminosity and is therefore useful in measuring the distances to clusters of stars and galaxies. Named for the prototype of this class found in the constellation Cepheus, classical Cepheids have periods from about 1.5 days to over 50 days and are Population I stars (see Populations I and II). The longer the period of such a star, the greater its natural brightness; this relationship was discovered in 1912 by the American astronomer Henrietta Leavitt (b. 1868—d. 1921).



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Cepheid variables, which are giant stars that pulse in brightness, have long been used as reference points for measuring distances in the nearby universe, according to Jonathan Bird, doctoral student in astronomy at Ohio State.
Delta is the prototype of the Cepheid variable stars which have proved invaluable in plumbing intergalactic distances.
0339), the researchers suggest that tinkering with the core of a Cepheid variable using a beam of neutrinos could be an effective way for advanced civilizations to communicate.
 
 
 
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