as in neutron star
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Recent Examples of variable star
As one of the largest, most luminous stars in our Milky Way Galaxy, the variable star VY Canis Majoris is a likely candidates for the next naked-eye core-collapse supernova, said Guinan.
—
Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
This region, about 8,000 light-years from Earth, is located adjacent to the famous explosive variable star Eta Carinae, which lies just outside the field of view toward the upper right.
—Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for variable star
Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
This region, about 8,000 light-years from Earth, is located adjacent to the famous explosive variable star Eta Carinae, which lies just outside the field of view toward the upper right.
—Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for variable star
Recent Examples of Synonyms for variable star
Noun
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When their cores run out of fuel, gravity crushes them inward, triggering supernovae that leave behind a neutron star or black hole.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
8 Oct. 2025
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In the 10 years since then, scientists have detected hundreds of black holes coming together, as well as other extreme cosmic events like neutron stars colliding and black holes merging with a neutron star.—
Nell Greenfieldboyce,
NPR,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The yellow ball, with its signature blue stripe and red star, can be spotted among other toys in movies like Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, Inside Out, and the Toy Story franchise.—
Kelly Connolly,
EW.com,
24 Aug. 2025
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Aldebaran, the red star that represents the 'right eye' of the bull, appears to be part of the cluster, but is actually located a mere 65 light-years from us.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
17 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Using artificial neutral networks, his tool allows astronomers to distinguish true binary star systems from chance alignments in massive data sets like the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission.—
Regina Elling,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Sep. 2025
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The double stars of Albireo are considered a binary star system, just over 400 light-years away, with just one light-year equaling nearly 6 trillion miles.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The other type of star that goes supernova is a giant star with a mass at least eight times greater than the sun.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
19 Aug. 2025
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All the stuff, really, enough to make a bona-fide, honest-to-God, true-blue spoof feature, the kind made by a studio and with a budget and giant stars and a full-fledged theatrical release.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Their relationship is even more involved than that — the gravitational pull of the white dwarf is actually stretching Wolf 1130A into an egg shape toward it.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
7 Oct. 2025
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Another potential cause is a white dwarf — a dead star as heavy as our sun but condensed to the size of Earth — being ripped apart by a rare intermediate-mass black hole.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Fixed or variable SecureEquity SecureEquity is Mutual of Omaha's exclusive jumbo reverse mortgage.—
Kelsey Neubauer,
CNBC,
13 Oct. 2025
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Knowing this, the military was intensely interested in optimization problems — that is, how to strategically allocate limited resources in situations that could involve hundreds or thousands of variables.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
13 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Variable star.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/variable%20star. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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