Beta Lyrae Variable
Beta Lyrae variables are a class of close binary stars. Their total brightness is variable because the two component stars orbit each other, and in this orbit one component periodically passes in front of the other one, thereby blocking its light. The two component stars of Beta Lyrae systems are quite heavy (several solar masses each) and extended (giants or supergiants). They are so close, that their shapes are heavily distorted by mutual gravitation forces: the stars have ellipsoidal shapes, and there are extensive mass flows from one component to the other.
Read more about Beta Lyrae Variable: Mass Flows, Light Curves, Examples of β Lyrae Stars
Famous quotes containing the word variable:
“Walked forth to ease my pain
Along the shore of silver streaming Thames,
Whose rutty bank, the which his river hems,
Was painted all with variable flowers,”
—Edmund Spenser (1552?–1599)