Facts about Epsilon Aurigae

1. 08

   Each eclipse of this 27-year binary system dims the primary star by roughly 0.75 magnitudes, making Epsilon Aurigae visible to the naked eye only during non-eclipse periods.

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2. 07

   In 1970, astronomers first spectroscopically detected the presence of Epsilon Aurigae's hidden companion star through detailed analysis of the primary star's light variations.

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3. 06

   Epsilon Aurigae's primary star will fade by approximately 0.75 magnitudes when the next eclipse begins in 2026, lasting nearly two years until 2028.

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4. 05

   Observations of Epsilon Aurigae's 2009-2011 eclipse revealed that the companion's dust disk orbits at an unusual 97-degree angle relative to the binary stars' orbital plane.

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5. 04

   Approximately 250 light-years from Earth, Epsilon Aurigae's invisible companion orbits within a vast disk of dust and gas spanning millions of kilometers in diameter.

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6. 03

   During the 1982-1984 eclipse of Epsilon Aurigae, astronomers discovered the eclipsing object was a binary star system itself, fundamentally changing understanding of this complex triple-star arrangement.

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7. 02

   The primary star Epsilon Aurigae is a supergiant with a luminosity approximately 2,000 times greater than our Sun's.

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8. 01

   With a period of 27 years, Epsilon Aurigae's eclipse cycle ranks among the longest known binary star systems in astronomy.

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