Beta Lyra

My first observational project when I was in college was to collect a light curve on a star named Beta Lyra. Well it is actually two stars that orbit each other and the stars eclipse as seen from earth. The stars are so close we can not see them separately. It is similar to the moon eclipsing the sun as seen from Earth. As one star passes in front of the other, the total light from both stars is reduced, one star blocks the others light, so the star dims. As they continue and the two stars are visible again the light increases again. The it is repeated when the other star passes in front. So over time the star dims, brightens, dims, brightens, dims, etc... The time it take to do a cycle (orbit) is about 13 days, so you can see the dimming relatively fast.

The constellation Lyra with bright Beta near the center



Beta Lyra, the other stars are just background stars.