HS Hya about to turn off its eclipses

Abstract

Aims: We aim to perform the first long-term analysis of the system HS Hya. Methods: We performed an analysis of the long-term evolution of the light curves of the detached eclipsing system HS Hya. Collecting all available photometric data since its discovery, the light curves were analyzed with a special focus on the evolution of system's inclination. Results: We find that the system undergoes a rapid change of inclination. Since its discovery until today the system's inclination changed by more than 15 deg. The shape of the light curve changes, and now the eclipses are almost undetectable. The third distant component of the system is causing the precession of the close orbit, and the nodal period is about 631 yr. Conclusions: New precise observations are desperately needed, preferably this year, because the amplitude of variations is decreasing rapidly every year. We know only 10 such systems on the whole sky at present.

4 pages, 3 figures, published in 2012A&A...542L..23Z

References in corpus (3)

• A Computational Guide to Physics of Eclipsing Binaries. Paper I. Demonstrations and Perspectives
• "Pi of the Sky" - all-sky, real-time search for fast optical transients
• The change in the inclination angle of the non-eclipsing binary SS Lacertae: future eclipses

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Eclipse Timing Variation Analyses of Eccentric Binaries with Close Tertiaries in the Kepler field
• Discovery of a double eclipsing binary with periods near a 3:2 ratio
• The Varying Light Curve and Timings of the Ultra-short Period Contact Binary KIC 9532219
• Detached Eclipsing Binaries in Compact Hierarchical Triples: Triple-lined systems BD+44 2258 and KIC 06525196
• The first analysis of extragalactic binary-orbit precession
• The Rise and Fall of the Eclipsing Binary HS Hydrae