Artist’s impression of the remarkable double star OGLE-LMC-CEP0227

This artist’s impression shows the double star OGLE-LMC-CEP0227 in our neighbouring galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud. The smaller of the two stars is a pulsating Cepheid variable and the orientation of the system is such that the stars eclipse each other during their orbits. Studies of this very rare system have allowed astronomers to measure the Cepheid mass with unprecedented accuracy.