Thar be (a) Var! (Credit: NASA/Space Telescope Inst).
It’s hard to imagine that less than a century ago, our home galaxy was thought to be the extent of the universe. That all changed the moment that Edwin Hubble wrote his famous “Var!” remark across an image of the Andromeda Nebula, M31. The intrinsic brightness of the star dubbed V1 enabled astronomers to get the first fix on the distant smudge, and they were floored by what they had found; clearly, M31 was an island universe onto its own.
Fast forward to today. Researchers at the Hubble Space telescope institute have recently partnered with the American Association of Variable Star Observers to compile new images and a new light curve of this famous Cepheid variable star. The results were unveiled at the recent meeting of the American Astronomical Society held in Boston, Massachusetts this past week. The project was part of the Space Telescope Institute’s Hubble Heritage project.
Why study old variables? This project represents a refinement of one of the most crucial cosmic standard candles at cosmological distances. It’s also interesting to note that backyard observers have the capabilities that only a few years ago were the realm of professionals. Seriously, I’ve seen some mind-blowing backyard images of M51 and its ilk that scant years ago that even professional technology couldn’t touch. The capability is out there, man… why not put that backyard light bucket to scientific use; join the AAVSO and the quest for cosmological knowledge!