995 B
| name | constellation | created_by | created_date | updated_by | updated_date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Anz (ε Aur) | Aur | 8mag | 2022-01-21 17:00:00 | skybber | 2022-01-21 17:47:32.918024 |
one of the three stars of the crucifixes, which is one of the remarkable occultation variables of the Algol type. It consists of a bright white supergiant 4 billion km across, 37,000 times brighter than the Sun, and a dark companion, but visually unobservable. The two stars are in mutual orbit. Every 27 years - 9,883 days - the dark component passes in front of the supergiant and obscures much of its light, making the star ε Aur much dimmer in our sky - from 3.1mag to 3.8mag. This darkening lasts for months - about 190 days, then the star stays at minimum for about half a year, and grows from minimum to maximum in another 190 days. This suggests that the guide must be surrounded by a dark cloud of gas and dust. The last such occultation occurred in 2009. It has one of the longest periods among known occultation variables.