Hmm ..
I did a thread a while ago on how they'd used an eclipse of a Cepheid to accurately determine their mass thus adding more 'weight' to the theory of "Stellar Pulsation" and its predictions, over "Stellar Evolution Theory".
Now they're saying:
Quote:
Astronomers have turned up the first direct proof that "standard candles" used to illuminate the size of the universe, termed Cepheids, shrink in mass, making them not quite as standard as once thought.
…
"We have shown that these particular standard candles are slowly consumed by their wind," said Massimo Marengo of Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, lead author of a recent study on the discovery appearing in the Astronomical Journal. "When using Cepheids as standard candles, we must be extra careful because, much like actual candles, they are consumed as they burn."
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Hmm .. interesting.
Cheers