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
  • The complete gravitational collapse that results creates either a neutron star or a black hole, and also sends out a blast of energy and high-speed particles that can traverse star systems and entire galaxies in some cases.
    Robert Lea, Space.com, 13 June 2025
  • For Córdova, that path began with a moment of astonishment: watching a television program about neutron stars as a young woman, she was struck by the immensity of the cosmos and felt the pull of a question that would guide her for a lifetime — how does the universe work?
    John Drake, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
Noun
  • The campaign, which is slated to run locally, nationally and internationally, incorporates the red stars and colors of the Chicago flag, and features scenes of people making doughnuts, running by the lakefront and partying en masse at a live concert.
    Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2025
  • The lunar disk will appear to close in on Antares as the night of June 9 progresses, with the red star eventually setting above the moon's upper left shoulder as the duo slip beneath the southwestern horizon in the predawn hours of June 10.
    Anthony Wood, Space.com, 8 June 2025
Noun
  • Astronomers may have discovered a rare type of binary star system, where one star used to orbit inside its partner.
    Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 22 May 2025
  • 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
Noun
  • The most violent of these deaths are associated with truly giant stars and are known as supernovas—explosions that sometimes outshine entire galaxies.
    Robin George Andrews, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 May 2025
  • Pollux is a giant star, while Castor is three stars orbiting each other.
    Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
Noun
  • Crucially, the white dwarf is not destroyed, and the 80-year-long process begins again.
    Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025
  • The object could be a white dwarf—an Earth-sized husk that remains after a star has exhausted its nuclear fuel.
    Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 30 May 2025
Noun
  • In the real world, however, those variables are deeply entangled.
    John Walkup, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
  • Another variable to consider is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC.
    Jesse Pound, CNBC, 13 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 30 Jun. 2025.

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