The first astronomer to conclude that there is a relationship between period and luminosity of variable stars was _________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Henrietta Leavitt discovered the period-luminosity relationship while working as a "computer" at Harvard College Observatory in the early 1900s. She was studying a type of variable star called Cepheid variables and found that there was a correlation between their period of variability and their luminosity, which allowed astronomers to accurately measure distances to other galaxies.

The First Astronomer to Conclude That There Is a Relationship