1912 paper on periods of 25 Cepheid variables in the Small Magellanic Cloud
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The 1912 paper on periods of 25 Cepheid variables in the Small Magellanic Cloud is Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s landmark work that revealed the period–luminosity relationship of Cepheid variable stars, providing a crucial tool for measuring cosmic distances.
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
astronomy paper
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scientific paper ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | Leavitt’s period–luminosity paper NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedPerson | Edward Charles Pickering NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| author | Henrietta Swan Leavitt NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| basedOn | photographic plate observations from the Harvard College Observatory ⓘ |
| chronology | follows earlier Harvard College Observatory work on variable stars in the Magellanic Clouds ⓘ |
| citedAs | Leavitt’s law NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| citedBy | Edwin Hubble’s work on extragalactic distances ⓘ |
| countryOfPublication |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| dataSource | Harvard College Observatory photographic plate archive NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| era | early 20th century astronomy ⓘ |
| field |
astronomy
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astrophysics ⓘ |
| historicalContext | produced during the era of the Harvard Computers ⓘ |
| impact |
contributed to the establishment of the cosmic distance ladder
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enabled later determination of the size of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies ⓘ laid the foundation for Edwin Hubble’s measurement of the distance to the Andromeda Galaxy ⓘ provided a distance scale tool for measuring extragalactic distances ⓘ |
| influenced |
calibration of the Hubble constant
ⓘ
development of modern cosmology ⓘ |
| institution | Harvard College Observatory NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| mainContribution |
discovery of a tight correlation between the periods and apparent magnitudes of Cepheid variables in the Small Magellanic Cloud
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establishment of Cepheid variables as standard candles for distance measurement ⓘ formulation of the period–luminosity relationship for Cepheid variables ⓘ |
| objectOfStudy |
25 Cepheid variable stars
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variable stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud ⓘ |
| observationalSite | Harvard College Observatory NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| observationalTechnique | repeated photographic imaging of the Small Magellanic Cloud ⓘ |
| publicationYear | 1912 ⓘ |
| publishedIn | Harvard College Observatory Circular NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
distance modulus
ⓘ
extragalactic distance scale ⓘ standard candle ⓘ |
| relatedWork | Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s earlier catalogs of variable stars in the Magellanic Clouds NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| result |
demonstration that longer-period Cepheids are intrinsically brighter than shorter-period ones
ⓘ
empirical calibration of a relation between period and apparent magnitude for SMC Cepheids ⓘ |
| scientificSignificance |
cornerstone of observational cosmology
ⓘ
key step in establishing that the universe extends beyond the Milky Way ⓘ |
| topic |
Cepheid variable stars
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Small Magellanic Cloud NERFINISHED ⓘ period–luminosity relation ⓘ |
| usesMethod |
period determination from light curves
ⓘ
photographic photometry ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
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notableWork
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1912 paper on periods of 25 Cepheid variables in the Small Magellanic Cloud
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