space
How Do Cepheid Variables Help Measure the Universe?
š” The Answer
- Cepheid variables pulse regularly with a period directly tied to their intrinsic brightness.
- Astronomers use this period-luminosity relation to calculate distances to faraway galaxies.
- The Hubble Space Telescope observed Cepheids in galaxies up to 100 million light-years away.
- They were key to discovering that the universe is expanding, not static.
- Cepheids serve as the first rung of the cosmic distance ladder for deeper measurements.
š You Might Also Like
š
On This Day ā October 273 events ā
1919 ā The Fourth Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the
1922 ā A referendum in Rhodesia rejects the country's annexation to the South African U
š£ Share this fact