Story 3KY Self-Lensing Binary Star System: Eclipse Actually Brightens the Light

Self-Lensing Binary Star System: Eclipse Actually Brightens the Light

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in space on (#3KY)
Not every eclipse consists of one celestial object blocking the light of another. There's an interesting article over at Scientific American about a recently discovered phenomenon where a smaller-but-dense star passes in front of its binary partner, and its stronger gravity actually creates a lens that bends gravity and makes the light of the "behind" star brighter, rather than occulting it. We live in an amazing universe, and we barely understand any of it. Like other eclipses, better not look at this one with the naked eye or you will probably melt your brain.
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