What specific distance measurement tool, relying on Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s discovery, did Hubble use on Andromeda?

Answer

Period-luminosity relationship for Cepheid variable stars

The key to determining the distance to the Andromeda Nebula lay in utilizing Cepheid variable stars, which function as 'standard candles.' This method is founded upon the period-luminosity relationship discovered by Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Cepheid variables pulsate rhythmically, and the duration of their brightening and dimming cycle directly correlates with their true intrinsic brightness, or luminosity. Once an astronomer could observe the period of a variable star in a distant object like M31, they could compare its observed brightness to its known intrinsic brightness to accurately calculate the intervening distance. This calculation allowed Hubble to place Andromeda far outside the previously accepted boundaries of the Milky Way.

What specific distance measurement tool, relying on Henrietta Swan Leavitt’s discovery, did Hubble use on Andromeda?

Related Questions

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