Cepheus
[see-fee-uh s, -fyoos]
- Astronomy. a northern circumpolar constellation between Cassiopeia and Draco.
- Also Kepheus. Classical Mythology. an Ethiopian king, the husband of Cassiopeia and father of Andromeda.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for cepheid
Historical Examples
We will install it in the 'S Doradus' and the 'Cepheid' as a weapon.
The Ultimate WeaponJohn Wood Campbell
Some stars pulsed, like the Cepheid variables, but in an orderly way.
The Egyptian Cat MysteryHarold Leland Goodwin
And then for an instant, the Cepheid's bright wink was dulled; eclipsed.
The Women-Stealers of ThrayxFox B. Holden
Shapley has estimated the distances of many of these bodies, which contain a large number of variable stars of the Cepheid type.
AstronomyDavid Todd
The "Cepheid," her sister ship, had gone along on seven of the trips, and added to the total.
The Ultimate WeaponJohn Wood Campbell
Cepheus1
- a faint constellation in the N hemisphere near Cassiopeia and the Pole StarSee also Cepheid variable
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Word Origin
from Latin Cēpheus named after the mythical king
Cepheus2
- Greek myth a king of Ethiopia, father of Andromeda and husband of Cassiopeia
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for cepheid
Cepheid
n.
type of variable star, 1904, from Delta Cephi, the name of the first such star identified, which is in the dim northern constellation Cephus, named for Greek Kepheus, a mythical king. With -id.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cepheid
[sē′fē-ĭd, sĕf′ē-]
- Any of a class of variable stars whose luminosity fluctuates with an extremely regular period. There is a strong correlation between the absolute magnitude of a Cepheid's luminosity and its period. By comparing the apparent magnitude of a Cepheid to the absolute magnitude corresponding to its period, it is possible to determine fairly accurately how distant the Cepheid is from Earth. Also called Cepheid variable
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Cepheus
[sē′fyōōs′, -fē-əs]
- A constellation in the Northern Hemisphere near Cassiopeia and Draco.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.