---
name: U Cep
constellation: Cep
created_by: 8mag
created_date: 2022-01-21 17:00:00
updated_by: skybber
updated_date: 2022-01-23 13:43:15.608721
---
an interesting short-period variable star. The brighter B-type component is occulted by a larger but fainter G giant once every 2.5 days. It varies in brightness from 6.7mag to 9.2mag, with a four-hour descent to minimum followed by two hours of total occultation. Because of the close actual separation, the brighter component of the dim giant strips a lot of material from the outer layer, resulting in the orbital period being reduced by 4 minutes over the past century. A nearby third component also appears to be part of the system, but it does not orbit in this orbit.