Suppose We Observe the Light Curve of a Totally Eclipsing

Multiple Choice

Suppose we observe the light curve of a totally eclipsing binary like that in Figure 10-13 in Comins,Discovering the Essential Universe,6th ed.The brightness falls gradually from magnitude 5 to magnitude 9 and remains there for 12 hours before increasing gradually to magnitude 5.Then after a while it drops gradually to magnitude 6,remains there for 8 hours,and returns to magnitude 5.What conclusion can be drawn from this light curve?

A) The star with the higher temperature is the smaller star.
B) The star with the higher temperature is the larger star.
C) This system is experiencing tidal distortion.
D) The light curve is in error because we cannot have two minima of different durations.