Noun: cepheid se-fee-ud
- (astronomy) a radially pulsating (expanding and contracting) variable star with a regular period, having a known relationship between period and intrinsic luminosity; measurements of the period and observed brightness allow the distance to be inferred
"The distance ladder was built up over several stages first using parallax measurements and then cepheids";
- cepheid variable
Derived forms: cepheids
Type of: variable, variable star
Encyclopedia: Cepheid