Suppose We Observe the Light Curve of a Totally Eclipsing

question 201

Multiple Choice

Suppose we observe the light curve of a totally eclipsing binary like that in Figure 10-13 in Comins,Discovering the Essential Universe,6th ed.The brightness falls gradually from magnitude 5 to magnitude 9 and remains there for 12 hours before increasing gradually to magnitude 5.Then after a while it drops gradually to magnitude 6,remains there for 8 hours,and returns to magnitude 5.What conclusion can be drawn from this light curve?

• A) The star with the higher temperature is the smaller star.
• B) The star with the higher temperature is the larger star.
• C) This system is experiencing tidal distortion.
• D) The light curve is in error because we cannot have two minima of different durations.

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Bipolar Disorder

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