eclipsing binaries

Note: The Alert Notice text below has been revised from the original version issued April 18, 2024.  - Elizabeth O. Waagen, April 19, 2024

Observers are also reminded that it is essential to use the comparison and check stars indicated for the photometry target. If they are too far apart to fit into the same field of view as the target, use PEP-style observing, that is, alternate images of variable, comp, and check.

April 22, 2024                                            REVISED VERSION

The 2021 Eclipsing Binary Ephemeris is now available.

Thank you Gerry Samolyk for all the good work you put into this!

The EB Zoo: examples of eclipsing binary stars and their behaviours

In this zoo, we will display not the specimen light curves of various types of EBs (these are readily available elsewhere), but the changes in their behavior.  Such changes are what most amateur observing programs aim to find and track.   Specifically, here are examples of EBs whose eclipses come early or late for different reasons, and a case where the eclipses no longer happen(!).

Algol

Co-Leaders:
Gerry Samolyk (SAH)  Contact
Kevin Alton (AKV)   Contact

Interested in joining this section? Click here for instructions.

Watch the Eclipsing Binaries Section Videos

Some of the best opportunities for contributing to astronomical research come through the AAVSO's Observing Campaigns, which are observing projects requested by individual researchers with a specific goal in mind. Some Campaigns are designed to last for a long time, and the results aren't known until well after the campaign concludes.  But some campaigns pay off immediately.  Our campaign on the bright star b Persei is an example of the latter, with a handful of AAVSO observers getting exactly the right data, at the right time, right away!