Measuring the distance to galaxies
•
For pulsating variable stars (CEPHEIDS), observations
of period
®
luminosity
•
Apparent brightness
µ
luminosity/(distance)
2
•
\
Distance measure
- works for
1 kpc to 30 Mpc
m – M = distance modulus
= 5logd – 5 (d in pc)
\
d = 10
(m-M+5)/5
pc
Measure P = 42 d, m = +22.0
\
L = 33,000 L
¤
&
M = -6.5
\
d = 10
(28.5 + 5)/5
= 10
6.7
pc
= 5 x 10
6
pc = 5 Mpc