Definition of variable star
: a star whose brightness changes usually in more or less regular periods
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Recent Examples of variable star from the Web
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So far, astronomers have estimated those distances using data from 10 well-studied, long-period variable stars in the Milky Way.
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For the local universe, these mile markers are Cepheid variable stars, which periodically pulse and share the same intrinsic brightness.
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Haro discovered flare stars, variable stars which experience unpredictable surges in brightness.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'variable star.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of variable star
1788
Learn More about variable star
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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about variable star
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