DP Leonis

DP Leonis is a cataclysmic variable star system located in the constellation Leo. It is a close binary system consisting of a white dwarf star and a red dwarf star in a very short orbital period of approximately 86 minutes. The system is also notable for containing a circumbinary planet, DP Leonis b.

The red dwarf star is tidally locked to the white dwarf, meaning it always presents the same face to its companion. Mass is transferred from the red dwarf to the white dwarf, forming an accretion disk around the white dwarf. This accretion disk is a region of intense heating and radiation.

The discovery of the circumbinary planet, DP Leonis b, was made through the observation of eclipses of the white dwarf by the red dwarf. The timing of these eclipses varied periodically, indicating the presence of a third body orbiting both stars, causing gravitational perturbations. The planet's estimated mass is several times that of Jupiter, and its orbital period is approximately 25 years.

DP Leonis provides astronomers with a valuable laboratory for studying the interactions between stars in close binary systems and the formation and evolution of planets in extreme environments.