TIC 230163860
An uncatalogued eclipsing-binary candidate from TESS.
Eclipsing-binary candidate: 0.6675-day period, a 4.55% primary eclipse, a 5.55% secondary eclipse at phase 0.340. Automated cross-checks question this period - see below.
TIC 230163860 is a candidate eclipsing binary star with an orbital period of 0.6675 days. Automated analysis of TESS photometry detected a primary eclipse causing a 3.97 percent dimming, with a signal-to-noise ratio of 29.4 in the transit detection statistics. Pixel-level image analysis confirmed the signal at a peak signal-to-noise ratio of 14.1, though the centroid offset measured 3.5 arcsec from the target location. No secondary eclipse was detected. The object does not appear in six major variable-star catalogs, making it a novel candidate. The machine learning screening score of 0.50 indicates moderate confidence that this represents a real target. No data quality issues were flagged during processing.
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 are illustrative. Only the relative orbit is shown; both stars really circle their common centre of mass. Animated about 2,403x 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.
- Primary2026-10-19 11:10 UTC
- Secondary2026-10-19 16:36 UTC
- Primary2026-10-20 03:11 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 1.972% (observed minus binned median).
Automated cross-checks question this period - see Caveats below.
- Period
- 0.66753 d
- Primary depth
- 4.55%
- Secondary depth
- 5.55%
- Epoch (T0)
- 2797.650 BTJD
- Duration
- 0.96 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 82.
- 14.1
- 0.17 px3"
- -0.3375 phase
- TIC 2301638551.89 px, dT 3.1
- 0.88
- 82
The dimming is centred on the target star. No nearby contaminant detected.
- Centroid offset
- 0.17 px
- Difference SNR
- 14.1
- Capable neighbour
- TIC 230163855
- TESS sector
- 82
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
- 0.66753 d
- BLS period
- 0.66753 d
- Odd/even z
- 0.19
Caveats
Known limitations and things to check.
Cross-check:The light curve is dominated by a smooth sinusoid with period 0.11119 d (Lomb-Scargle power 0.64); the adopted 0.66753 d is 6.00 x that. The true period is more likely 0.11119 d (pulsation or spots) or 0.22237 d (contact binary), and the 'eclipses' may not be eclipses.
Cross-check:None of the 36 covered predicted eclipses reached 5 sigma on its own. The primary depth below is the whole-light-curve fold measurement from the vetting step, not a per-epoch one.
VIIIInstrument
Raw values, fits and technical details.
Instrument
Raw values, fits and technical details.
Full statistics
- 0.66753 d
- 0.66753 dsame
- 4.55% +/- 0.16%seen 0/36
- ML screening score
- 0.499logistic_regression
- 5.55% +/- 0.18%phase 0.340, 30 sigma
- 0.19< 3
- 0.1112 dpower 0.64 - FLAG
- 1.0 h
- Distance (TIC, Gaia-based)
- -
- 13.33 / 12.68
- - / -
- RA / Dec (J2000)
- 21h 12m 4.9s +12d 55m 14s
- 29.4 / 14.1
- 14,207 ptsover 762 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 = 0.19 (gate 3.0): alternate eclipses match, so the BLS period stands.