Can someone explain this one to me in layman's terms?

This one is a little confusing.

Posted July 24, 2017 9:30 AM

As Kian said many times (and a wonderful contributor here in the past and since HM brought his fine work up again):

"The internet is your friend."

Also note the many comments in the left margin that this is an eclipsing binary... And there are some very useful links on the internet about eclipsing binaries, and on this website also if you browse around a bit.

And don't worry if this seems confusing right now because the more your read about all this, the more you will know. All it takes is a bit of effort and some free time of course.

Good luck!

Posted July 28, 2017 2:36 AM

by emily.safron

Hi librastrahl! As ajamyajax mentioned, this system appears to be an eclipsing binary. That means that two stars are orbiting each other in a plane that allows us to watch them eclipse each other. When the smaller star eclipses the larger one, a small dip occurs in the total light we see from the system. When the larger star eclipses the smaller one, a larger dip occurs. Any time a light curve on Planet Hunters displays this very regular alternating of shallow and deep dips, there's a good chance you're seeing an eclipsing binary.

Posted August 9, 2017 5:27 AM