Gaia17bpp

Gaia17bpp is a rare M-type red giant star that exhibited a single large dimming event (G-16-20.5 mag) over 6.5 years.

[1] Current hypothesis and archival data suggest that Gaia17bpp belongs to a rare family of ultra-long period binary stars where the companion is enshrouded in large optically thick disks reminiscent of Epsilon Aurigae, VVV-WIT-07, and AS Leonis Minoris.

[7][8] The remarkable Gaia17bpp dimming event occurred in mid 2012, however the GPSA issued an alert back in 2017 when the star began re-brightening.

Researchers employed archival image searching and conducted spectroscopic follow-up observations on Gaia17bpp using the Apache Point Observatory 3.5m ARC Telescope.

Modeling of the dimming event suggest that a possible scenario includes the occultation of an extended oblate optically thick disk with 1.4 AU radius, moving with a transverse velocity of approximately 0.005 km/s.

A light curve for Gaia17bpp, showing the recovery from the dimming event. Adapted from Tzanidakis et al. [ 1 ]
Animation of optical images of Gaia17bpp dimming event seen from the Asteroid Terrestrial Last Alert System (ATLAS).