The photometric curve will show periodicity, such as Eclipsing binary Cepheid variable and other variable stars, or non periodic, such as nova, cataclysmic variable or Supernova 。 Studying the luminosity curve, together with other observations, can obtain important information, such as the physical mechanism that leads to this process, or the physical theory that restricts this behavior.
In planetology, the photometric curve can be used to estimate the rotation period of an asteroid or whether there is a satellite. In the solar system, when observing these celestial bodies from the Earth, they are usually just light spots that cannot be distinguished in shape. Even with the most powerful telescope, these celestial bodies are smaller than a pixel on the detector. Therefore, astronomers can only measure their total luminosity as a function of time (luminosity curve). Assuming that some areas of the observed object are bright and some areas are dark, the rotation period of the observed object can be estimated by finding the peak value of the photometric curve. However, in some cases, there will be aliasing, so it is not clear whether the rotation period is one peak or two peaks.
