Best Eclipsing Binary

Spica, designated Alpha Virginis, is the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo and a prominent binary star system. Located approximately 250 light-years from Earth, the system consists of two massive B-type stars orbiting so closely that their mutual gravity distorts them into ellipsoidal sha...

Beta Lyrae, also called Sheliak, is an eclipsing binary star system in the constellation Lyra. The two stars orbit closely and exchange matter, so their changing shapes, eclipses, and interactions produce regular variations in brightness rather than a simple single-star pulse. Beta Lyrae serves as t...

Epsilon Aurigae is an eclipsing binary star system situated in the northern constellation of Auriga. The system is composed of an F-type supergiant primary star and a secondary component that consists of a large, opaque disk of dust and gas surrounding a smaller, hotter star. Astronomers have studie...

VV Cephei is an eclipsing binary system in the constellation Cepheus composed of a very large, cool M-type supergiant and a hotter B-type companion. The two stars orbit each other roughly every 20.3 years, and eclipses last many months because the supergiant has an enormous extended atmosphere. Mate...

Alphecca, formally Alpha Coronae Borealis, is the brightest star in Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown, and lies about 75 light-years from the Sun. It is an eclipsing spectroscopic binary whose two stars orbit closely enough that the system periodically changes brightness when one component passes...

Sabik, formally designated Eta Ophiuchi, is a binary star system and the second-brightest star in the constellation Ophiuchus. The system is located approximately 88 light-years from Earth and consists of two white A-type main-sequence stars. These two stars orbit each other with an estimated period...