Variable Stars
A variable star is a star where its brightness as seen from Earth fluctuates. The study of variable stars involves the recording of its magnitude, and how that fluctuates over time. The plotting of a variable star's magnitude vs. time is known as a light curve. The light curve plotting of variable stars combined with the study of supernovae events help physicists understand the formation of the universe.
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Variable Star Types
Variable stars have a wide number of classifications, with the main types listed below.
Intrinsic
Intrinsic Variable stars are stars which vary their light output, where the variability is being caused by changes in the physical properties of the stars themselves. These stars provide information about the internal structure of stars and provide astronomers with informational to support models of stellar evolution.
Pulsating Stars
Pulsating variable stars experience periodic expansion and contraction of the surface layers of the stars. Pulsating variables actually increases and decreases in size periodically, creating light curves which give clues to the interior processes of the stars. Pulsating variables are also valuable in distance measurements to the stars.
Cepheids
Type I Classical
Type II W Virginis
RR Lyrae
RV Tauri
Long-Period Variables (LPVs)
Mira Type
Semiregular
Eruptive (cataclysmic stars)
Supernovae
Novae
Recurrent Novae
Dwarf Novae
Symbiotic Stars
R Coronae Borealis
Extrinsic
Eclipsing Binaries
Rotating Variables
Variable Star Resources
American Association of Variable Star Observers - (AAVSO) is a non-profit worldwide scientific and educational organization of amateur and professional astronomers who are interested in stars that change in brightness—variable stars.
arXiv.org Astrophysics - An e-print service in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer science, quantitative biology, quantitative finance and statistics maintained Cornell University.
Astrophysics Data System - The ADS maintains three bibliographic databases containing more than 10.8 million records: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Physics, and arXiv e-prints.
The British Astronomical Association: Variable Star Section - The VSS was formed in 1890, the year the BAA was founded, with the aim of collecting and analysing observations of variable stars.
Konkoly Observatory, Hungary - Variable Stars - The Information Bulletin on Variable Stars is a bulletin of the Commissions 27 and 42 of the International Astronomical Union, published by the Konkoly Observatory, Budapest, Hungary.
Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand - The RASNZ has links to Variable Stars South, a group focused on Variable Stars in the Southern skies.
The SIMBAD astronomical database provides basic data, cross-identifications, bibliography and measurements for astronomical objects outside the solar system.
