Overview
- The F-type star about 3,200 light-years away dimmed by roughly 97% for nearly nine months, making it one of the longest recorded stellar occultations.
- Analysis of photometric and spectroscopic data favors a companion exceeding three Jupiter masses with optically thick rings extending about 0.17 astronomical units.
- The modeled saucer-like ring structure accounts for the slow onset of dimming followed by a nearly opaque eclipse.
- Researchers also identify a nearby red dwarf and signs of circumstellar debris unusually close to this likely older-than–1-billion-year star.
- Follow-up observations are planned with the Very Large Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, and ALMA, and modeling suggests a similar event could recur in about 42–43 years.