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
  • These waves may also create detectable radio signals, potentially allowing astronomers to catch two distinct bursts from a single neutron star–black hole collision.
    Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 5 June 2025
  • With their extremely strong magnetic fields, these neutron stars – small, dense collapsed cores of supergiant stars – are capable of producing the powerful bursts of energy that have been observed for years.
    Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 31 May 2025
Noun
  • Steinhardt, however, has an alternate hypothesis: Some post-starburst galaxies may be, unbeknownst to us, slowly forming small, red stars over time.
    David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Apr. 2025
  • According to Nine Planets, Uy Scuti is a supergiant red star that’s located in the constellation named Scutum.
    Michael Saponara, Billboard, 25 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Astronomers have theorized that supernovas such as these are caused by two white dwarfs orbiting each other in a binary star system, when one of them consumes the other.
    Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Apr. 2025
  • The binary star system discovered in the new study is the heaviest of its kind that's ever been confirmed, with a combined mass that's 1.56 times that of the sun.
    John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Pollux is a giant star, while Castor is three stars orbiting each other.
    Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
  • Planetary nebulae like Kohoutek 4-55 are the finale at the end of a giant star’s life.
    Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Indeed, most white dwarfs are seen to have extremely pure atmospheres of just those two lighter elements.
    Phil Plait, Scientific American, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Sporadic radio pulses from a white dwarf binary at the orbital period Max Planck Institute.
    Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 12 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Exposing environment variables to unknown inference endpoints off the security team’s radar.
    Anshu Bansal, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
  • The lab, founded in 1961, is still known worldwide for its computer modeling of the planet that enable scientists to make projections for how climate change may affect global temperatures, precipitation, extreme weather events and other variables.
    Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 5 June 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 9 Jun. 2025.

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