Describe two ways of determining the diameter of a star.

Instructions
Research each of the following four topics and submit your answers in a document in .docx (Word) or PDF format:

Describe two ways of determining the diameter of a star.
Describe the connection between cepheid variable stars and the period-luminosity relation
Explain how you would use the spectrum of a star to estimate its distance.
Which method would you use to obtain the distance to each of the following?
a. An asteroid crossing Earth’s orbit

b. A star astronomers believe to be no more than 50 light-years from the Sun

c. A tight group of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy that includes a significant number of variable stars

d. A star that is not variable but for which you can obtain a clearly defined spectrum

Rubric – Q1, Q2, Q3 = 24 pts and Q4 = 28 pts

Additional Instructions-

Your submission should use 12-point font and be double spaced.
Outside research and use of academic sources are expected to fully address each topic/question.
The intended audience for your responses are people familiar with the subject matter, but not experts.
A reasonable amount of jargon can be used and detailed explanations on the topics are expected.
Answers should be in complete sentences and fully explain your thought-process and/or step through your conclusions.
The full length of the submission should be around two pages, however each question should be fully addressed so additional pages may be needed.
Figures, graphics, or other additions that add to your responses are strongly encouraged.
These figures, etc. need to be incorporated into your answer (i.e. called out) and have a proper APA citation and reference.
Include a list of all sources you used for your answers in a reference list included with the assignment. The citations and reference list need to be in APA format.

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