Planet Hunters Talk

Not sure how to classify . . .

  • Liano by Liano

    I posted this, in comments, but should have asked here, I think (I'm new at this, so let me know if I've got it wrong).

    This particular star appears to have a regular, not variable, dip in brightness every 6 days. In that sense it looks like the examples of a single planet transit in the help section, but with a much shorter period than the examples given.

    Can someone explain this behavior? Is it just variable? Do pulsating stars have this much regularity to them (the examples in the help section look much more random).

    Posted

  • davidbundy77 by davidbundy77

    A variable star is simply any star which varies in brightness and could be pulsating, regular or irregular. There are very many different types of variable star ( see the GCVS classification system http://www.sai.msu.su/groups/cluster/gcvs/gcvs/iii/vartype.txt ). Determining the precise type can be difficult even for professional astronomers so don't worry too much about getting it right or wrong.

    Pulsating stars are stars in which the surface of the star expands and contracts. Most of the pulsating variable types are regular but there are also some irregular types. I think your example might be pulsating but only an expert can tell you for sure.

    Posted