Eclipsing binary stars consist of a system of two stars, which orbit around each other. From our point of view, the stars will pass in front of and behind each other regularly as they orbit, causing the overall brightness of the system to temporarily drop. The star in front blocks the light from the star behind it, so the brightness that we observe of the star system (both stars together) decrease.

A collaboration of school students and astronomers have used the Faulkes Telescopes to study an eclipsing binary star system, named RV Aps. The system was first discovered in 1931 by the astronomer Henrietta Hill Swope and is visible from the Souther Hemisphere.

Faulkes Telescope user André Debackère joined up with two teachers, John Murphy at Regina Mundi College Cork and Conrad Stevens at Canterbury Academy. Along with their students, the team took 1049 images of the eclipsing binary system over 6 months, to capture several eclipses of the system, which happen every 34 days. Along with taking the images, the students also learnt about how eclipsing binaries work and why the brightness changes, through classroom activities.

The team were able to record the changing brightness of the system, including a number of the eclipses of the stars. From this they were able to measure the period of the eclipse and the length of time that the stars were passing in front of each other. They were also able to create some computer models of what the eclipsing binary would look like!

The team are looking to follow up with more observations next year, to get more data points for analysis, to better determine the duration and size of the decrease in brightness (minima) and improve their model of the system. We look forward to see what more they find out!