Beacons in the Night Mapping the Universe with Variable Stars

Dr Scowcroft will discuss the vast contributions that variable stars have made to astronomy and cosmology. She will describe how variable stars are used to create three-dimensional maps of nearby galaxies, revealing new details about their structure and evolution. She will discuss the advances in cosmology brought about through variable star studies, such as Hubble’s discovery of the expanding Universe, the discovery that this expansion is accelerating, and what this tells us about the ultimate fate of our Universe.