standardcandle
Standardcandle is a term used in astronomy to denote a standard candle, an astronomical object with a known intrinsic luminosity that can be used to infer distances. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with standard candle in informal writing or in contexts where a single word is preferred.
In practice, a standardcandle has a fixed absolute magnitude M. The observed brightness m relates to distance
Common examples include Type Ia supernovae, Cepheid variables, and the tip of the red giant branch. Type
Calibrating a standardcandle requires independent distance measurements to nearby calibrators, such as Cepheid parallaxes and geometric
The concept dates to early 20th-century astronomy and has evolved with improved photometry and calibration. Foundational