Brightness or intensity of light from a celestial source plotted against time on a graph. Astronomers use light curves, for example, to discover dark companions of stars. As a dark object orbits in front of a star, thus partially eclipsing it, the brightness falls, producing a dip on the light curve. Careful analysis of the light curve, together with other information, reveals the masses of the star and dark companion plus the distance to the eclipsing binary system.
A graph that displays the time variation of the light from a variable or eclipsing binary star or, more generally, from any other object whose radiation output changes with time.
A graph showing the changing brightness of an astronomical object (usually, a variable star), plotted against time.
A graph showing how the radiation from an object varies over time. Also called a " Time Series".
a graph showing how on object's brightness changes through time
a plot of a variable star's brightness over time
A graph of an object's changing brightness over time.
The variation in brightness of a star with time. [More Info
A graph plotting the apparent magnitude of a variable star against time.
A graph of brightness versus time commonly used in analyzing variable stars and eclipsing binaries.
Brightness or intensity of light plotted against time on a graph. Astronomers discover dark stellar companions using the light curve of the star. As a dark orbiting object eclipses the star, the brightness falls, producing a dip on the light curve. Careful analysis of the light curve reveals the masses of the star and dark companion plus the distance to this eclipsing binary system.
a plot of how an object's brightness changes over time.
A plot showing how the light output of a star (or other variable astronomical object) changes with time.
In astronomy, a light curve is a graph of light intensity of a celestial object or region, as a function of time. The light is usually in a particular frequency interval or band.