TIC 467214801
An uncatalogued eclipsing-binary candidate from TESS.
Eclipsing-binary candidate: 1.5217-day period (twice the BLS period), a 1.63% primary eclipse, a 1.24% secondary eclipse at phase 0.662. Automated cross-checks question this period - see below.
TIC 467214801 shows a 1.626% dip in TESS photometry, repeating every 1.5217 days (BLS signal-to-noise 2133.7). A secondary dip was also detected, at 69.2 sigma and phase 0.66. This pipeline's own automated cross-checks flag open questions about this candidate: Odd/even eclipse-depth z-score is 5.40 (gate > 3.0): alternating eclipses differ significantly in depth, the signature of a true period double what BLS found. Pixel-check confirmation and eclipse timing are unaffected - report the corrected period, 1.521701 d, in any write-up. No eclipse at 15 of 162 covered epochs where the 1.52170 d period predicts one (each under half the typical depth, > 5 sigma below it). The period is probably wrong - the dips seen may be separate eclipses of a longer-period system. The light curve is dominated by a smooth sinusoid with period 0.25361 d (Lomb-Scargle power 0.78); the adopted 1.52170 d is 6.00 x that. The true period is more likely 0.25361 d (pulsation or spots) or 0.50722 d (contact binary), and the 'eclipses' may not be eclipses. Because of that, this should be read as an unverified candidate, not a confirmed eclipsing binary.
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 (8,030 K). Only the relative orbit is shown; both stars really circle their common centre of mass. Animated about 5,478x 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.
- Secondary2026-10-20 01:18 UTC
- Primary2026-10-20 13:37 UTC
- Secondary2026-10-21 13:49 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 0.380% (observed minus binned median).
Automated cross-checks question this period - see Caveats below.
- Period
- 1.52170 d
- Primary depth
- 1.63%
- Secondary depth
- 1.24%
- Epoch (T0)
- 2826.062 BTJD
- Duration
- 2.02 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.
- 21.4
- 0.01 px0"
- -0.0100 phase
- TIC 4672147714.01 px, dT 4.5
- 0.77
- 82
The dimming is centred on the target star. No nearby contaminant detected.
- Centroid offset
- 0.01 px
- Difference SNR
- 21.4
- Capable neighbour
- TIC 467214771
- 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.
It is about 2,616 light years away: the light TESS recorded left it around 2,616 years ago.
Together the two stars give off about 104 times the Sun's light in Gaia's band - before correcting for interstellar dust, which only makes distant stars look fainter.
Its colour is bluer than the Sun's, which usually means hotter.
Source: ESA Gaia DR3, source 2235344870560597504.
Gaia's measurements fit a single point of light well (RUWE 0.85), as expected for a pair too close for Gaia to separate.
- Distance
- 802 +/- 8 pc
- Light-travel time
- ~2,616 years
- Apparent G
- 9.14
- Absolute G
- -0.38
- Colour BP-RP
- 0.29
- RUWE
- 0.85
- Match offset
- 0.18 arcsec
The ground-survey check
An independent instrument, different years: does real ZTF photometry show the eclipse at the period TESS measured?
No ZTF observations at this position (declination 57.7 deg) - likely too far south for ZTF's footprint, which covers the sky north of roughly -31 deg. Not a mark against the candidate, just a gap in ground-survey coverage.
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
- 1.52170 d
- BLS period
- 0.76085 d
- Odd/even z
- 5.40
Caveats
Known limitations and things to check.
Cross-check:No eclipse at 15 of 162 covered epochs where the 1.52170 d period predicts one (each under half the typical depth, > 5 sigma below it). The period is probably wrong - the dips seen may be separate eclipses of a longer-period system.
Cross-check:The light curve is dominated by a smooth sinusoid with period 0.25361 d (Lomb-Scargle power 0.78); the adopted 1.52170 d is 6.00 x that. The true period is more likely 0.25361 d (pulsation or spots) or 0.50722 d (contact binary), and the 'eclipses' may not be eclipses.
- Period alias:Odd/even eclipse-depth z-score is 5.40 (gate > 3.0): alternating eclipses differ significantly in depth, the signature of a true period double what BLS found. Pixel-check confirmation and eclipse timing are unaffected - report the corrected period, 1.521701 d, in any write-up.
VIIIInstrument
Raw values, fits and technical details.
Instrument
Raw values, fits and technical details.
Full statistics
- 1.52170 d
- 0.76085 dalias
- 1.63% +/- 0.04%seen 142/162
- ML screening score
- 0.806logistic_regression
- 1.24% +/- 0.02%phase 0.662, 69 sigma
- 5.40> 3: alias
- 0.2536 dpower 0.78 - FLAG
- 2.0 h
- Distance (TIC, Gaia-based)
- 778 pc+/- 21
- 9.14 / 9.00
- 8030 K / 5.57 Rsun
- RA / Dec (J2000)
- 19h 47m 0.0s +57d 43m 47s
- 2133.7 / 21.4
- 104,789 ptsover 785 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 = 5.40 (gate 3.0): alternate eclipses differ, so the true period is 2 x 0.7609 = 1.5217 d.
O - C timing
140 eclipses timed, rms 20.02 min, reduced chi-square 1652.08 (138 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 = 1.521669 +/- 0.000000 d.