light curve

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light curvesearch for term: Brightness or intensity of light from a celestial source plotted against time on a graph. Astronomers use light curves, for example, to discover dark companions of stars. As a dark object orbits in front of a star, thus partially eclipsing it, the brightness falls, producing a dip on the light curve. Careful analysis of the light curve, together with other information, reveals the masses of the star and dark companion plus the distance to the eclipsing binary system.