Ithaca College

Bruce Thompson, Assistant Professor of Physics, and Tayza Yeelin, a senior physics major, have published a paper entitled "Duplicity in 16 Piscium Confirmed from Its Occultation by 7 Iris on 2006 May 5" in the December issue of Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

The paper reports an observation of the minor planet Iris as it passed in front of the star 16 Piscium in the constellation Pisces. The analysis of the data shows that the star is really two stars of approximately equal magnitude. Their separation is too small to be observed by standard telescopic observations but was evident in the way that the light dimmed and reappeared during the event.