Stellar wobble

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Stellar wobble is a variation in the position of a star due to the gravitational influence of another body orbiting it. Stellar wobble is visible as a Doppler redshift in the star's spectrum or as a motion of the star in the plane of the sky. The Doppler shift is caused by the star moving towards and away from the Earth as it and its companion(s) orbit around their common center of mass.

Stellar wobble is an important phenomenon in astronomy, as it can be used to detect extrasolar planets and black hole candidates. Currently, the majority of extrasolar planets have been detected using the Doppler redshift method, but several astrometric programs are being developed which are designed to measure the motion of the star in the plane of the sky.