TX Leonis, also known by its Flamsteed designation 49 Leonis, is a triple star system that includes an eclipsing binary, located in the constellation Leo. It was discovered to be a variable star, showing eclipses, by Ernst-Joachim Meyer in 1933.[16] The apparent magnitude of TX Leonis ranges between 5.66 and 5.75, making it faintly visible to the naked eye for an observer located well outside of urban areas.[3] The star's brightness drops by 0.09 and 0.03 magnitudes during the primary and secondary eclipses respectively, and neither the primary nor the secondary eclipse is total.[6]
TX Leonis is a triple star, consisting of magnitude 8.1 star (component B) separated by 2 arc seconds from the brighter eclipsing pair (components Aa and Ab).[17][18] Although orbital motion has not been detected, the companion shares a common proper motion with the primary star and is at approximately the same distance.[14]
Both stars comprising the eclipsing binary are main sequence stars. Of those two stars, star Aa has been assumed to be 8 times more luminous than star Ab,[7] although newer estimates give the luminosities as 83 L☉ and 6 L☉ respectively.[10]
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