EXOSAT light curves of U Gem

The soft X-ray intensity of the cataclysmic variable U Gem during the late part of a long outburst seen in 1985. The orbital period is clearly indicated by the variable profile dips. These are caused by absorption of the soft X-rays in gas which splashes out of the orbital plane at the point where the accretion stream from the secondary star hits the accretion disc. By the third observation the main dip has become very broad and a narrow dip half an orbital period away has developed.

IMAGES | By Mission | Stars | Cataclysmic Variables | X-ray Binaries | Pulsars | Supernova Remnants & Planetary Nebulae | Galaxies | Active Galactic Nuclei | Clusters and Groups of Galaxies | X-ray/gamma-ray Background & Deep Fields | Solar System Objects | Gamma Ray Bursts