A Photometric Study of the Eclipsing Binary Star UV Lyncis
Description
UV Lyncis is a short period, over contact eclipsing binary star. These stars are physically in contact with each other, sharing a common atmosphere. Photometric observations were made on 10 nights in February and March 2014 using the 0.3 meter robotic telescope and a CCD science imager at the Waffelow Creek Observatory. 3051 images were acquired, calibrated and then reduced to record the changing brightness as the two stars orbited and eclipsed each other. Data collected resulted in complete light curves in 5 band passes and several times of minima. A period analysis confirmed previous studies that the orbital period is slowly increasing due to mass streaming from the hotter less massive star to the cooler more massive star. Light curves were then analyzed with light curve synthesis programs to model the physical properties of the stars and their orbits. The solution to the modeling of the light curves combined with radial velocity measurements resulted in the determination of the stars absolute parameters including masses, temperatures, luminosities and sizes. In addition, it was discovered that a small region near the contact point on the cooler star was hotter than the rest of the star by a few hundred degrees.
A Photometric Study of the Eclipsing Binary Star UV Lyncis
Pattillo Student Center, 2nd Floor
UV Lyncis is a short period, over contact eclipsing binary star. These stars are physically in contact with each other, sharing a common atmosphere. Photometric observations were made on 10 nights in February and March 2014 using the 0.3 meter robotic telescope and a CCD science imager at the Waffelow Creek Observatory. 3051 images were acquired, calibrated and then reduced to record the changing brightness as the two stars orbited and eclipsed each other. Data collected resulted in complete light curves in 5 band passes and several times of minima. A period analysis confirmed previous studies that the orbital period is slowly increasing due to mass streaming from the hotter less massive star to the cooler more massive star. Light curves were then analyzed with light curve synthesis programs to model the physical properties of the stars and their orbits. The solution to the modeling of the light curves combined with radial velocity measurements resulted in the determination of the stars absolute parameters including masses, temperatures, luminosities and sizes. In addition, it was discovered that a small region near the contact point on the cooler star was hotter than the rest of the star by a few hundred degrees.