Many of the stars we see get brighter and even fainter over various periods of time. Some stars dim, brighten, dim again, and so on…in less than a second! Other stars can take years to change brightness—and not because the star is dying. These stars are called variable stars.

Explore a different variable star each month in 360 degrees on YouTube, or watch them in a planetarium dome, with these shorts from Ball State University, the American Association of Variable Star Observers, and the International Planetarium Society. 

Enjoy any of the following episodes:

• PLEIONE IN TAURUS
• BETELGEUSE IN ORION
• PROPUS IN GEMINI
• R LEONIS IN LEO
• V HYDRAE IN HYDRA
• Y CANUM VENATICORUM IN CANES VENATICI
• R SCUTI IN SCUTUM
• R AQUILAE & THE SUMMER TRIANGLE
• DELTA CEPHEI & CEPHEID VARIABLES
• MIRA IN CETUS
• ALMAAZ IN AURIGA (coming soon!)
• ALGOL, THE DEMON STAR

Watch or download any of the three to four-minute-long episodes for free at planetariumshows.bsu.edu. More information about the project can be found on the AAVSO website: www.aavso.org/featured-variables.