A

David

Darling

reflecting binary

A reflecting binary is a type of variable star in which light from the hotter star is reflected from the cooler star, so that we see increased brightness when the hotter star is closer to us; the amplitude is typically 0.5 to 1 magnitude. Since the stars have to be close together for this effect to be really noticeable, the system may be an eclipsing binary as well. An example of this class is KV Velorum.