Leavitt’s Study of Variable Stars Unlocks Galactic Distances
At a glance:
- Series: Great Events from History II: Science and Technology Series
- Categories: Science
- Subcategories: Scientists, Astronomy, Astronomers, Cosmology
- Curriculum: American History 1901-1950
- Geographical Location: Massachusetts, New England
- Date: 1912
Article abstract: Leavitt discovered that the pulsating period of a Cepheid variable star is directly proportional to the star’s brightness.
Summary of Event
The modern cosmological view of the universe is an expanding sphere of approximately one trillion galaxies. Each galaxy consists of one hundred billion to one trillion stars. Each star, including the sun, is an immense thermonuclear furnace composed mostly of the elements hydrogen and helium. The remaining one hundred-plus elements (for example, carbon, oxygen, iron) are synthesized by fusion...
[The entire page is 2342 words long]
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