Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Newton's Law of Gravitation01:15

Newton's Law of Gravitation

11.8K
Our everyday observation tells us that all objects close to the Earth naturally tend to fall to the ground. Early philosophers assumed that this downward force was unique to Earth. By the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) put forward the heliocentric theory, which suggested that Earth and other planets orbited the sun, while the Moon orbited the Earth. However, it was Isaac Newton (1642-1727) who linked these two motions together in the 17th century. He reasoned that the force of...
11.8K
Gravity between Spherical Bodies01:27

Gravity between Spherical Bodies

7.2K
Newton's law of gravitation describes the gravitational force between any two point masses. However, for extended spherical objects like the Earth, the Moon, and other planets, the law holds with an assumption that masses of spherical objects are concentrated at their respective centers.
This assumption can be proved easily by showing that the expression for gravitational potential energy between a hollow sphere of mass (M) and a point mass (m) is the same as it would be for a pair of extended...
7.2K
Acceleration due to Gravity on Other Planets01:24

Acceleration due to Gravity on Other Planets

3.4K
The gravitational acceleration of an object near the Earth's surface is called the acceleration due to gravity. It can be measured by conducting simple experiments on Earth. However, such an experiment is impossible to conduct on the surface of other planets.
Astronomical observations are thus used to measure the acceleration due to gravity on other planets. This can be determined by observing the effect of a planet's gravity on objects close to it. The crucial factor that helps in this...
3.4K
Apparent Weight and the Earth's Rotation01:28

Apparent Weight and the Earth's Rotation

2.9K
Since all objects on the Earth's surface move through a circle every 24 hours, there must be a net centripetal force on each object, directed towards the center of that circle. The points of the north and south poles are the only exception to this rule.
For an object on the Earth's equator, the net centripetal force that accounts for its rotation is the Earth's pull towards its center, or the weight minus the normal force that prevents it from piercing into the Earth's surface....
2.9K
Variation in Acceleration due to Gravity near the Earth's Surface01:20

Variation in Acceleration due to Gravity near the Earth's Surface

1.9K
An object's apparent weight is its weight measured by a spring balance at its location. It is different from its true weight, the force with which the Earth pulls it, because of the Earth's rotation. Mathematically, an object's apparent weight equals its true weight minus the centripetal force that keeps it in a circular motion along with the Earth's surface every 24 hours.
The difference between the true and apparent weights is proportional to the square of the Earth's...
1.9K
Gravitation01:16

Gravitation

8.4K
In the years before Newton, a general belief prevailed that different laws governed objects in the sky than objects on Earth. When Kepler wrote down the three laws of planetary motion, explaining in detail the geometrical properties of the planetary orbits around the Sun, there was no immediate idea to discern their connection with more fundamental laws. It was Isaac Newton who, in 1665–66, figured out the connection between planetary motion, the motion of the moon around the Earth, and...
8.4K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Can the 5-SENSE score guide stereo-electroencephalography in children? First validation in a purely pediatric cohort.

Journal of neurosurgery. Pediatrics·2026
Same author

Ventricular indices in infants with enlargement of the subarachnoid space.

Journal of neurosurgery. Pediatrics·2026
Same author

Letter to the Editor. Post-COVID-19 pandemic increase in intracranial infections secondary to acute bacterial sinusitis.

Journal of neurosurgery. Pediatrics·2025
Same author

Evaluation of Association of Prematurity with Benign Enlargement of Subarachnoid Space in Infants Referred for Macrocephaly.

Pediatric neurosurgery·2025
Same author

Stress-induced phase separation in plastics drives the release of amorphous polymer micropollutants into water.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

A tilted "Tatooine planet" whose two suns aren't stars at all.

Science advances·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 4, 2026

Coherence between Brain Cortical Function and Neurocognitive Performance during Changed Gravity Conditions
12:29

Coherence between Brain Cortical Function and Neurocognitive Performance during Changed Gravity Conditions

Published on: May 23, 2011

19.5K

An observational correlation between stellar brightness variations and surface gravity.

Fabienne A Bastien1, Keivan G Stassun, Gibor Basri

  • 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, 1807 Station B, Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA. fabienne.a.bastien@vanderbilt.edu

Nature
|August 24, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Surface gravity, a key stellar property, can now be determined more accurately by analyzing star brightness variations caused by surface granulation. This method offers a precision better than 25% for Sun-like stars.

More Related Videos

Measurement of Aerosols Optical Thickness of the Atmosphere using the GLOBE Handheld Sun Photometer
06:27

Measurement of Aerosols Optical Thickness of the Atmosphere using the GLOBE Handheld Sun Photometer

Published on: May 29, 2019

7.5K
Surface Mapping of Earth-like Exoplanets using Single Point Light Curves
06:48

Surface Mapping of Earth-like Exoplanets using Single Point Light Curves

Published on: May 10, 2020

3.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 4, 2026

Coherence between Brain Cortical Function and Neurocognitive Performance during Changed Gravity Conditions
12:29

Coherence between Brain Cortical Function and Neurocognitive Performance during Changed Gravity Conditions

Published on: May 23, 2011

19.5K
Measurement of Aerosols Optical Thickness of the Atmosphere using the GLOBE Handheld Sun Photometer
06:27

Measurement of Aerosols Optical Thickness of the Atmosphere using the GLOBE Handheld Sun Photometer

Published on: May 29, 2019

7.5K
Surface Mapping of Earth-like Exoplanets using Single Point Light Curves
06:48

Surface Mapping of Earth-like Exoplanets using Single Point Light Curves

Published on: May 10, 2020

3.0K

Area of Science:

  • Stellar Astrophysics
  • Photometry
  • Stellar Properties

Background:

  • Surface gravity is a fundamental stellar parameter, yet accurate measurement remains challenging.
  • Traditional methods like spectroscopy and photometry yield uncertainties of 25-50% and 90-150%, respectively.
  • Asteroseismology offers high precision (approx. 2%) but is limited to specific stellar types (giants) and smaller samples.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential of using high-precision brightness variations from stellar granulation to determine surface gravity.
  • To establish an observational correlation between surface gravity and brightness variations on short timescales.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of archival data from over 150,000 stars.
  • Focus on brightness variations on timescales of less than eight hours.
  • Correlation analysis between Fourier power of granulation and surface gravity.

Main Results:

  • An observational correlation was found between surface gravity and root mean squared brightness variations for stars within specific temperature (4,500–6,750 K) and surface gravity (log g: 2.5–4.5 cgs) ranges.
  • This correlation holds for stars with minimal overall brightness variations (< 0.3%).
  • The method achieves a precision better than 25% for inactive, Sun-like stars across main-sequence to giant evolutionary stages.

Conclusions:

  • Optical brightness variations, driven by granulation, provide a viable method for determining stellar surface gravity.
  • This technique offers improved precision compared to traditional spectroscopic and photometric methods for Sun-like stars.
  • The study opens new avenues for precise stellar parameter determination using readily available photometric data.