Tip of the Red Giant Branch

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Tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB) is a primary distance indicator used in astronomy. It uses the luminosity of the brightest Red Giant Branch stars in a galaxy to gauge the distance to that galaxy. It has been used in conjunction with observations from the Hubble Space Telescope to determine the relative motions of the Local Cluster of galaxies within the Local Supercluster.

The TRGB indicator uses stars in the old stellar populations (Population II).[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ferrarese, Laura; Ford, Holland C.; Huchra, John; Kennicutt, Robert C., Jr.; Mould, Jeremy R.; Sakai, Shoko; Freedman, Wendy L.; Stetson, Peter B.; Madore, Barry F.; Gibson, Brad K.; Graham, John A.; Hughes, Shaun M.; Illingworth, Garth D.; Kelson, Daniel D.; Macri, Lucas; Sebo, Kim; Silbermann, N. A. (2000). "A Database of Cepheid Distance Moduli and Tip of the Red Giant Branch, Globular Cluster Luminosity Function, Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function, and Surface Brightness Fluctuation Data Useful for Distance Determinations". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 128 (2): 431-459.