variable star

Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of variable star Stars that change in brightness, known as variable stars, get brighter and dimmer; supernovas burst into view and then gradually fade away; and thousands of objects too faint to see with the unaided eye, like asteroids, move steadily across the sky. Dan Falk, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 June 2024 Using these variable stars, scientists can measure the distances to galaxies up to about 100 million light-years from us. Quanta Magazine, 19 Jan. 2024 Henrietta Swan Leavitt developed a key method for measuring astronomical distances that is based on the pulsations of Cepheid variable stars. WIRED, 12 Nov. 2023 Photograph: Alamy Hubble in turn wrote up his variable star measurements and convinced everyone that Andromeda was indeed a separate galaxy. WIRED, 12 Nov. 2023 See All Example Sentences for variable star
Recent Examples of Synonyms for variable star
Noun
  • Previously, long radio bursts were only traced to neutron stars, the dense remnants left after a colossal stellar explosion.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Previously, long-period radio bursts like this one had only been traced back to neutron stars, meaning this work puts an entirely new spin on their origins.
    Robert Lea, Space.com, 12 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • One day this boy wants to be a red star inside those red walls.
    Michael Walker, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025
  • The Hubble image captures the nebula's diverse stellar population, which includes hot, young blue stars and older red stars, scattered among intricately woven, airy tendrils of gas and dark clumps of dust.
    Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 20 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The unprecedented observations of such bright, long radio bursts from this binary star system are just the beginning, astronomers say.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Astronomers suggest that supermassive black holes create hypervelocity stars when binary stars (a pair of stars gravitationally bound to each other) get too close.
    Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Hamal is a giant star in our Milky Way galaxy that dwarfs our sun with a diameter of at least 13 million miles.
    Mike Lynch, Twin Cities, 16 Mar. 2025
  • Rising above 45 meters and crowned by a giant star of 17 meters in diameter, this walk-through tree offers light shows and music every hour from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and is accompanied by eight other trees of lights instead of hanging decoration.
    Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • The model developed by the team found that white dwarfs can fuel both processes simultaneously, making Earth-like planets possible around white dwarfs.
    Robert Lea, Space.com, 19 Mar. 2025
  • The material sits on the surface of the white dwarf until there is enough material to ignite a thermonuclear runaway explosion -- a buildup of pressure and heat.
    Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • Importantly, the two groups, only a few weeks apart in age, were not expected to differ significantly from one another, which would reduce the probability of confounding variables.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 5 Apr. 2025
  • The start and end of that season changes based on a wide set of variables, but the presence of Velella velellas indicates a shift in winds and currents, Stock said.
    Adrian Rodriguez, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Variable star.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/variable%20star. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.

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