An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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The prototypical and first discovered → cataclysmic variable. It is a → dwarf nova system with a relatively long → orbital period of 4 hr 17 minutes. U Gem undergoes → outbursts on time-scales between 30 and 250 days and shows → grazing occultations. The → accretion disk is partially eclipsed, but the → white dwarf remains visible during mideclipse. The mass of the white dwarf → primary is estimated to be 1.24 Msun, about two times higher than the mass of the → secondary; the → angle of inclination is 69°.7 (P. J. Groot 2001, ApJ 551, L89).

→ variable star designation; → Gemini.