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light curve.

Noun
Sci-FiSettingTechnical
MEANING

A graph or record showing how an astronomical object’s measured brightness changes over time.

Use it for

a star’s changing brightness; a transit or variability recorded in observations; temporal evidence distinguished from a curved beam of light

Words that belong together

  • a stellar light curve
  • analyze a light curve

On the page

A dip in the stellar light curve prompted a closer look at the orbital model.
She compared the light curves before accepting the claim of a new planet.

Related words

brightness-time recordphotometric time seriesstellar variability
Word forms
Base
light curve

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Science-fiction vocabulary

Usage notes

Primary category: sci-fi. Forms: Singular light curve; plural light curves. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.

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