Binary stars are often resolved as separate stars, in which case they are called visual binaries. Many visual binaries have long orbital periods of several centuries or millennia and therefore have orbits which are uncertain or poorly known. They may also be detected by indirect techniques, such as spectroscopy or astrometry. If a binary star happens to orbit in a plane along our line of sight, its components will eclipse and transit each other; these pairs are called eclipsing binaries, or, together with other binaries that change brightness as they orbit, photometric binaries.
W Ursae Majoris is the variable star designation for a binary star system in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. It has an apparent visual magnitude of about 7.9, which is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. However, it can be viewed with a small telescope. Parallax measurements place it at a distance of roughly 169 light years (52 parsecs) from Earth.
Xi Boötis, Latinised from ξ Boötis, is a binary star system located at a distance of 22 light-years away from Earth. It is the nearest visible star in the constellation Boötes. The brighter, primary component of the pair has a visual magnitude of 4.70, making it visible to the naked eye.
Delta Cephei is the Bayer designation for a quadruple star system located approximately 887 light-years away in the northern circumpolar constellation of Cepheus, the King. At this distance, the visual magnitude of the star is diminished by 0.23 as a result of extinction caused by gas and dust along the line of sight. It is the prototype of the Cepheid variable stars that undergo periodic changes in luminosity.
Lambda Tauri is a triple star system in the constellation Taurus. In the Calendarium of Al Achsasi Al Mouakket, this star was designated Sadr al Tauri, which was translated into Latin as Pectus Tauri, meaning "the bull chest". In 1848, the light from this system was found to vary periodically and it was determined to be an eclipsing binary system—the third such discovered. The components of this system have a combined apparent visual magnitude of +3.47, making it one of the brighter members of the constellation. Based upon parallax measurements from the Hipparcos mission, the distance to this system is approximately 480 light-years.
Gamma Delphini, which is Latinized from γ Delphini, is a wide binary star system in the northern constellation of Delphinus. The star marks one corner of the asterism "Job's Coffin". The pair can be split with a modest amateur telescope and have been described as "one of the prettier pairs in the sky", with their contrasting colors said to be orange and lime in appearance. Together, the system is visible to the naked eye with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 3.87.
VV Cephei, also known as HD 208816, is an eclipsing binary star system located in the constellation Cepheus, approximately 5,000 light years from Earth. It is both a B[e] star and shell star.
V343 Carinae is a blue-white star or star system in the southern constellation of Carina. It has the Bayer designation d Carinae, while V343 Carinae is a variable star designation. The star is visible to the naked eye with an apparent visual magnitude of 4.31. The distance to this object is approximately 1,440 light years based on parallax. It is drifting further away with a radial velocity of +13 km/s.
Epsilon Persei, Latinized from ε Persei, is a multiple star system in the northern constellation of Perseus. It has a combined apparent visual magnitude of +2.88, which is bright enough to be viewed with the naked eye. Based upon parallax measurements, this system is located at a distance of roughly 640 light-years (196 parsecs) from Earth.
HD 176051 is a spectroscopic binary star system approximately 49 light years away from Earth in the constellation Lyra. The pair orbit with a period of 22,423 days and an eccentricity of 0.25. Compared to the Sun, they have a somewhat lower proportion of elements more massive than helium. Their individual masses are estimated at 1.07 and 0.71 solar masses (M☉). The system is moving closer to the Sun with a radial velocity of −47 km/s and will reach perihelion in about 269,000 years when it comes within roughly 17 ly (5.1 pc) of the Sun.
32 Cygni is the Flamsteed designation for a binary star system in the Cygnus constellation. It is a 4th magnitude star, which can be seen with the naked eye under suitably dark skies. Parallax measurements give an estimated distance of 1,100 light-years (320 parsecs) from the Earth. However, Schröder et al. (2007) suggest the actual value, after correcting for Malmquist bias, may be closer to 1,174 light-years (360 parsecs). Although it is a spectrsocopic binary with components that cannot be separated visually, it has two entries in the Henry Draper Catalogue, with identical magnitudes and positions, but showing the spectral types of the two components.
A circumbinary planet is a planet that orbits two stars instead of one. The two stars orbit each other in a binary star system, while the planet typically orbits farther from the center of the system than either of the two stars. Although, planets in stable orbits around one of the two stars in a binary are known. Studies in 2013 showed that there is a strong hint that the planet and stars originate from a single disk.
Y Sextantis, abbreviated as Y Sex, is a variable star system in the equatorial constellation of Sextans. The system is invisible to the naked eye with a mean apparent visual magnitude of 9.88. It is located roughly at 1,300 light years from the Sun based on parallax.
VW Cephei is an eclipsing contact binary of W Ursae Majoris-type located roughly at 90.6 light years from the Sun, whose two component stars share a common outer layer. Because the two components share their outer layers, as the components of W Ursae Majoris do, they have the same stellar classification, and are classified as yellow G-type main sequence dwarfs. The components take 0.2783 days to revolve around a common barycentre. Orbital period variations suggest the presence of one more additional perturbing objects of likely low-mass stellar nature.
QS Virginis is an eclipsing binary system approximately 163 light-years away from the Sun, forming a cataclysmic variable. The system comprises an eclipsing white dwarf and red dwarf that orbit each other every 3.37 hours.
68 Herculis is a triple star system located around 990 light-years away from the Sun in the northern constellation of Hercules. In the astronomical community it is more commonly referred to by its Bayer designation of u Herculis, while 68 Herculis is the Flamsteed designation. The system is visible to the naked eye as a faint, blue-white-hued point of light with a peak apparent visual magnitude of 4.80. It is approaching the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of −17 km/s.
FL Lyrae is the variable star designation for an eclipsing binary star system in the northern constellation of Lyra. The combined apparent magnitude of the pair is 9.36, which means they are too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Parallax measurements from the Hipparcos spacecraft put the system at a distance of around 420 light years from the Sun. This star system was in the view field of the Kepler space telescope during 2009−2014, which allowed monitoring during that spacecraft's mission.
VV Orionis is an eclipsing binary located in the belt region of the constellation Orion. It is a faint naked eye star.
AE Phoenicis is a variable star in the constellation of Phoenix. An eclipsing binary, its apparent magnitude has a maximum of 7.56, dimming to 8.25 during primary eclipse and 8.19 during secondary eclipse. From parallax measurements by the Gaia spacecraft, the system is located at a distance of 168 light-years from Earth.
V752 Centauri is multiple star system and variable star in the constellation of Centaurus. An eclipsing binary, its apparent magnitude has a maximum of 9.10, dimming to 9.66 during primary eclipse and 9.61 during secondary eclipse. Its variability was discovered by Howard Bond in 1970. From parallax measurements by the Gaia spacecraft, the system is located at a distance of 410 light-years from Earth.
