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Credit: AAVSO
Explanation:
Humanity's understanding of the relative brightness and variability of stars
was revolutionized by the work of Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921).
Working at
Harvard College Observatory, Leavitt precisely
calibrated the photographic magnitudes of 47 stars to which all other
stars could be compared.
Leavitt discovered and cataloged over 1500
variable stars
in the nearby
Magellanic Clouds.
From this catalog, Leavitt discovered that brighter
Cepheid variable stars
take longer to vary, a fact used today to calibrate the
distance scale of our universe.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: scientist - Henreitta Leavitt - star
Publications with words: scientist - Henreitta Leavitt - star
See also: