The –est Astronomy

This eclipse goes on and on

Nearby star is hidden by its companion for 3.5 years

eclipse illustration

LIGHT BLOCKER  A dust-enshrouded star orbiting another star drives the longest known eclipse and probably looks similar to the previous record holder, illustrated here.

Brian Thieme, Aaron Price (CC BY-SA 3.0)

By Christopher Crockett

- More than 2 years ago

Once every 69 years, a nearby star dramatically dims for about three and a half years during the longest known stellar eclipse in our galaxy.