Cepheid Variables Astronomy Stars, Black Holes, and Galaxies Cepheid Variables Questions What is a cepheid variable? How are cepheid variable stars found? How are cepheid variable stars used in astronomy? How are cepheid variable stars used in determining distances? Why are cepheid variables important? How are cepheid variables related to the instability strip? How can a cepheid variable indicate distance? How can cepheid variables be used to find distance? What are cepheid variable stars and why are they important? Where are the cepheid variables? Can we see any from earth without a telescope? How can astronomers use variable stars to find distance? How does the pulsation of cepheid variables allow astronomers to estimate age? Why are Cepheid variable stars important to astronomers? How is the information they impart any more or less useful than using stellar parallax? Suppose we observe a Cepheid variable in a distant galaxy that brightens and dims with a regular period of about 10 days. What can we learn from this observation? Why do cepheid variables pulse and how does this pulsate help calculate distance? If a cepheid variable in a nearby galaxy is 106 times fainter than an identical one in the Milky Way, how far away is it? A cepheid variable star has a period of 4 days. What is the luminosity in solar units? Why are cepheid variable stars important in our study of the Milky Way? Why is a cepheid variable star referred to as a standard candle? Are cepheid variable stars brighter than the sun? How does knowing the period of variability of a Cepheid Variable star allow us to determine its absolute magnitude? A cepheid variable in a nearby galaxy looks "10^6" times fainter than an identical Cepheid in the Milky Way? The Cepheid in the Milky Way is 1000 parsecs away. How far away is the nearby galaxy? What causes the pulsation of a cepheid-type variable star? How does knowing the period of a variable star helps us know its luminosity? How did Hubble use cepheids to measure the distance to M31 and other galaxies? What is a Cepheid variable star and what makes it variable? What is the connection between a Cepheid variable star's pulse and its brightness? How can we use Cepheid variables and supernovae to determine stellar distances? How can we use Cepheid variables and supernovae to determine stellar distances? What is the absolute magnitude of a type 1 cepheid variable star which has a period of 30 days? How does a cepheid variable differ from other stars? How do cepheid stars pulsate? How are cepheid variables used? What are cepheid variable stars used for? What are cepheid variables? What are cepheid variables used to determine? Why are cepheid variables known as standard candles? Why do cepheid stars pulsate? What are stars that pulsate in and out called? What enables stars to pulsate? How do variable stars pulsate? Stars, Black Holes, and Galaxies View all chapters Life and Death of Stars Quasars and Galactive Collisions Stellar Parallax Cepheid Variables Our Galaxy: The Milky Way Prev Next