TIC 224182619
An uncatalogued eclipsing-binary candidate from TESS.
Eclipsing-binary candidate: 1.1492-day period, a 0.47% primary eclipse, a 0.44% secondary eclipse at phase 0.505. Automated cross-checks question this period - see below.
TIC 224182619 is a candidate eclipsing binary star with an orbital period of 1.1492 days detected in automated TESS photometry. The primary eclipse produces a dimming of 0.38%, with a strong detection signal-to-noise ratio of 138.3 in the transit search. No secondary eclipse was detected. Pixel-level analysis shows a difference-imaging peak signal-to-noise of 5.3, but the centroid offset of 16.1 arcsec from the target raises an important caveat: the star's position in TESS images sits only 0.062 pixels from a nearby bright neighbor, within the pipeline's own stated centroid uncertainty of 0.10-0.3 pixels. This means TESS's resolution cannot confidently distinguish this target from its neighbor, leaving open the question of which star is actually eclipsing. The candidate does not appear in six major variable-star catalogs, and machine learning screening assigns it a score of 0
This light curve is smooth and sinusoidal rather than eclipse-shaped - typical of a close pair distorted by each other's gravity, or of a signal that is not an eclipse - so the eclipse-geometry estimates do not apply. The drawing is generic; the glow still follows the real light curve.
Not to scale. A star's surface never gets dimmer during an eclipse - part of it is simply hidden. What drops is the total light we receive, shown exactly by the readout and bar below from the real light curve; the glow dims with it, exaggerated so small dips show. Colours follow temperature on a stellar colour scale, saturated so the differences show; the star's is its catalogue value (4,601 K). Only the relative orbit is shown; both stars really circle their common centre of mass. Animated about 4,137x faster than real on average, slowing down through each eclipse, and starting from where the system is in its orbit right now. Hover to pause.
- Secondary2026-10-19 08:58 UTC
- Primary2026-10-19 22:38 UTC
- Secondary2026-10-20 12:33 UTC
Computed from the fitted ephemeris. Approximate - not corrected for your location or for light-travel time across Earth's orbit.
The signal
A repeating, consistent dip in brightness.
Residual scatter 0.074% (observed minus binned median).
Automated cross-checks question this period - see Caveats below.
- Period
- 1.14924 d
- Primary depth
- 0.47%
- Secondary depth
- 0.44%
- Epoch (T0)
- 3507.143 BTJD
- Duration
- 1.39 h
The catalog check
Cross-matched against known variable-star catalogs to rule out anything already listed.
- VSXNot found
- ASAS-SNNot found
- Gaia eclipsing-binary tableNot found
- Gaia variable classificationNot found
- TESS EB catalog (Prsa+2022)Not found
- ExoFOP TOI listNot found
0/6 catalogs list a known variable at this position.
No known variable star or catalogued match at this position.
- Catalogs checked
- 6
- Matches
- 0
The pixel check
Confirms the dimming is on the target star, not a nearby source.
Out/in share one sqrt colour scale; in-eclipse = out-of-eclipse minus difference. TESS sector 81.
- 5.3
- 0.77 px16"
- 0.0025 phase
- TIC 2241826030.83 px, dT 3.2
- 0.76
- 81
The dimming centroid sits almost as close to a bright neighbour as to the target.
- Centroid offset
- 0.77 px
- Difference SNR
- 5.3
- Capable neighbour
- TIC 224182603
- TESS sector
- 81
The Gaia view
A second spacecraft's measurements: how far away the star is, how bright and what colour, and whether its position fits a single star.
The latest Gaia context file does not include this candidate yet, so there is no Gaia view to show.
The ground-survey check
An independent instrument, different years: does real ZTF photometry show the eclipse at the period TESS measured?
The latest ground-survey file does not include this candidate yet, so there is no independent ZTF check to show.
Fold it yourself
Adjust the period and watch the eclipse appear.
Shown at the true period. The raw light curve needed to re-fold at other periods has not been exported yet - this slider unlocks automatically once it is.
The period the pipeline measured. Drag the slider away from it and the eclipse smears out.
- True period
- 1.14924 d
- BLS period
- 1.14924 d
- Odd/even z
- 0.51
Caveats
Known limitations and things to check.
Cross-check:The light curve is dominated by a smooth sinusoid with period 0.28747 d (Lomb-Scargle power 0.35); the adopted 1.14924 d is 4.00 x that. The true period is more likely 0.28747 d (pulsation or spots) or 0.57494 d (contact binary), and the 'eclipses' may not be eclipses.
- Thin margin:The ON_TARGET call rests on a neighbour-competition margin of just 0.062 px (dimming centroid 0.768 px from target vs 0.830 px from the nearest bright-enough neighbour) - inside diag_pixel.py's own stated centroid systematic of 0.10-0.3 px. TESS's resolution cannot confidently separate this star from that neighbour.
VIIIInstrument
Raw values, fits and technical details.
Instrument
Raw values, fits and technical details.
Full statistics
- 1.14924 d
- 1.14924 dsame
- 0.47% +/- 0.01%seen 18/18
- ML screening score
- 0.903logistic_regression
- 0.44% +/- 0.01%phase 0.505, 72 sigma
- 0.51< 3
- 0.2875 dpower 0.35 - FLAG
- 1.4 h
- Distance (TIC, Gaia-based)
- 360 pc+/- 11
- 9.91 / 9.12
- 4601 K / 7.31 Rsun
- RA / Dec (J2000)
- 19h 31m 51.2s +00d 11m 30s
- 138.3 / 5.3
- 9,466 ptsover 27 d
Eclipse close-ups
Same flux scale on both panels. Line: binned median. Shown in place of an orbit animation - this pipeline measures eclipses, it does not fit an orbit.
Period alias analysis
Odd/even depth z = 0.51 (gate 3.0): alternate eclipses match, so the BLS period stands.
O - C timing
18 eclipses timed, rms 3.55 min, reduced chi-square 42.07 (16 dof): more scatter than the timing errors explain - worth a closer look.
Each eclipse timed by fitting the star's own mean eclipse profile; fitted P = 1.149299 +/- 0.000011 d.