Stellar distances are primarily determined by the inverse-square law of light, which mathematically links a star's apparent brightness (m), intrinsic brightness (absolute magnitude, M), and distance ...

One of the trickiest problems in astronomy is the measure of distance. In theory, distance should be simple to work out. If you know the intrinsic brightness of an object, a simple measure of its ...

Cepheid variable stars exhibit regular pulsations whose period directly correlates with their intrinsic brightness (absolute luminosity). The Leavitt law establishes this relationship between ...

A glance at the night sky above Earth shows that some stars are much brighter than others. However, the brightness of a star depends on its composition and how far it is from the planet. Astronomers ...

Elongation is the angle, in degrees, between the Sun and the planet as seen from here on the Earth. Superior planets (those that lie further from the Sun than us: Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, ...

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) deliver emitted light in response to current being made to flow through them, but then you already knew that, right?? If we define that the light output of an LED is ...

Humans have been utterly fascinated with the night sky and the millions of stars sprinkled throughout the huge expanse. Out of the numerous stars, some are brighter than others, and closer to the ...

There are more than 12,000 active satellites circling Earth at the moment, a growing figure that has nearly doubled in less than three years. This recent boom in the satellite industry has been a ...