Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Boxes
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Preface
- 1 History and development
- 2 Stars
- 3 Variable stars
- 4 Rotating variable stars
- 5 Eclipsing variable stars
- 6 Pulsating variable stars
- 7 Eruptive variable stars
- 8 Pre-main-sequence variable stars
- 9 Miscellaneous variable stars
- 10 Epilogue
- Appendix: Acronyms
- References
- Resources
- Index
2 - Stars
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Boxes
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Preface
- 1 History and development
- 2 Stars
- 3 Variable stars
- 4 Rotating variable stars
- 5 Eclipsing variable stars
- 6 Pulsating variable stars
- 7 Eruptive variable stars
- 8 Pre-main-sequence variable stars
- 9 Miscellaneous variable stars
- 10 Epilogue
- Appendix: Acronyms
- References
- Resources
- Index
Summary
Variable stars are stars, first of all. They can be studied and understood in the same way as non-variable stars, except that they have the advantage that they can ‘talk’ to us through their variability. If we can understand their language, then we can learn more about them than we can about non-variable stars. All of this information comes through ‘the message of light’ (and its relatives). We measure the direction, intensity, wavelength, and polarization of the light from the stars. In this chapter, we will describe how astronomers can understand stars through observation and theory. This is a collaboration between those who build the instruments that astronomers use, the observers who use them, the theoreticians who develop the laws of physics and astrophysics, and those who use modelling and simulation to apply those laws to real stars.
For an excellent introduction to all aspects of stars, see the monograph by Kaler (1997), and Kaler's website:
http://www.uiuc.edu/˜kaler/sow/sow.html
Another option is to consult one of the many introductory astronomy textbooks which are designed for university students. Some of these textbooks are divided into two volumes, one being on stars and galaxies.
Positions
Stars seem fixed to the celestial sphere, as it appears to revolve around the earth in its daily motion. The position of a star is given by its declination and right ascension, which are analogous to latitude and longitude on earth. The declination is the angular distance of the star north or south of the celestial equator, which is the projection of the earth's equator on to the sky.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Understanding Variable Stars , pp. 14 - 47Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007