I Can someone please explain to me Leavitt's law?

AI Thread Summary
Leavitt's law, discovered by Henrietta Leavitt, establishes a relationship between the periods of cepheid variable stars and their intrinsic brightness. By assuming that cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud are at a uniform distance, astronomers can determine their absolute brightness based on their observed duration. This method allows for the calculation of distances to cepheid variables across the universe. By comparing the actual brightness with the observed brightness, the distance to these stars can be accurately determined. This law is crucial for measuring astronomical distances and understanding the scale of the universe.
Oganesson
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And how we use it to calculate distances from stars to the earth.Thank you
 
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She discovered a relationship between the periods of a cepheid variable and their brightness by assuming that all of them in the Large Magelenic cloud were approximately the same distance from us. This allows us to determine the absolute amount of brightness of any cepheid in the universe just by watching it's duration. By knowing how bright the object actually is, and how bright we observe it to be, the distance is easily determinable.
 
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newjerseyrunner said:
She discovered a relationship between the periods of a cepheid variable and their brightness by assuming that all of them in the Large Magelenic cloud were approximately the same distance from us. This allows us to determine the absolute amount of brightness of any cepheid in the universe just by watching it's duration. By knowing how bright the object actually is, and how bright we observe it to be, the distance is easily determinable.
Thank You.
 

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