Leavitt law
E571548
The Leavitt law is the period–luminosity relation for Cepheid variable stars that enables astronomers to measure cosmic distances and determine the scale of the universe.
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
astronomical relation
ⓘ
distance indicator ⓘ period–luminosity relation ⓘ |
| accuracyImprovedBy |
corrections for reddening and extinction
ⓘ
observations in infrared bands ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
Cepheid variable star
ⓘ
Classical Cepheid variable ⓘ Type I Cepheid NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| assumes | Cepheids in the same galaxy are at nearly the same distance ⓘ |
| calibratedUsing |
Gaia mission parallaxes
ⓘ
Hubble Space Telescope observations ⓘ trigonometric parallax of nearby Cepheids ⓘ |
| category |
Observational cosmology
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Stellar astronomy ⓘ |
| describesRelationBetween |
intrinsic luminosity of Cepheid variables
ⓘ
pulsation period of Cepheid variables ⓘ |
| enables |
calibration of the cosmic distance ladder
ⓘ
determination of extragalactic distances ⓘ measurement of cosmic distances ⓘ |
| hasAlternativeName | period–luminosity relation ⓘ |
| hasDiscoverer | Henrietta Swan Leavitt NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasKeyParameter |
slope of the period–luminosity relation
ⓘ
zero point of the period–luminosity relation ⓘ |
| hasLimitation |
metallicity dependence of the relation
ⓘ
scatter due to interstellar extinction ⓘ |
| hasVariant |
infrared period–luminosity relation
ⓘ
period–luminosity–color relation ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance | provided first reliable method to measure distances to external galaxies ⓘ |
| implies | longer-period Cepheids are more luminous ⓘ |
| influencedWorkOf | Edwin Hubble NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| isPartOf | cosmic distance ladder NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mathematicallyExpressedAs | linear relation between absolute magnitude and logarithm of period ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Henrietta Swan Leavitt NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| playsRoleIn |
determination of the Hubble constant
ⓘ
testing cosmological models ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Hubble–Lemaître law
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
standard candle concept ⓘ |
| requiresCalibrationBy | independent distance measurements ⓘ |
| subjectOf | cosmological distance scale studies ⓘ |
| usedFor |
calibrating Type Ia supernova distances
ⓘ
determining the scale of the universe ⓘ measuring distances to nearby galaxies ⓘ measuring distances within the Milky Way ⓘ |
| wasDiscoveredIn | early 20th century ⓘ |
| wasFirstFormulatedFromObservationsOf | Cepheid variables in the Small Magellanic Cloud ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.