Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,898,032,802 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

eclipsing binary
(redirected from Eclipsing binaries)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia 0.03 sec.

eclipsing variable star

 or eclipsing binary

Binary star in an orbit whose plane passes through or very near Earth. An observer on Earth sees one star pass periodically in front of the other and diminish its light through an eclipse. The star Algol, in the constellation Perseus, was the first such star recognized (1782); thousands are now known. By combining the brightness variations with spectroscopic information for both stars, astronomers can determine the mass and size of each star. See also variable star.


eclipsing binary [i′klips·iŋ′bī‚nər·ē]


Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Mentioned in?  References in periodicals archive?   Encyclopedia browser?   Full browser?
No references found
 
Middleton continued his collaboration with Smits by doing further observations of W UMa-type eclipsing binaries from Kyalami in Johannesburg.
Eclipsing binaries: observational challenges Mr Loughney highlighted the eclipsing binaries W Ser, RZ Cas, U Cep, VW Cep, BV Dra, and AW UMa, describing both visual observations and unfiltered photometry using a digital SLR camera.
A further seventeen papers address eclipse-related issues of extra-solar physics, including solar and stellar eclipse mapping, line profiles during eclipse of binary stars, classification of eclipsing binaries, photometric and spectroscopic studies of the eclipsing binary, the light curve variation of the Be Star EM Cep, and determination of physical parameters of cataclysmic variables from analysis of their light curves.
 
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.