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Examples of variable star in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
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
So a variable star is one that changes its brightness over time in a regular cycle.
—Lucy Evans, Scientific American, 22 June 2023
The Hubble Space Telescope captured a stunning new image of the bright variable star V 372 Orionis and a companion star.
—Julia Musto, Fox News, 28 Jan. 2023
The variable star usually cycles from dim to bright over some 420 days, so astronomers say there’s still more to the mystery.
—Eric Betz, Discover Magazine, 14 Dec. 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'variable star.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1788, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near variable star
Cite this Entry
“Variable star.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/variable%20star. Accessed 13 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
variable star
noun
: a star whose brightness changes usually in more or less regular periods
More from Merriam-Webster on variable star
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for variable star
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about variable star
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