Space-Based Photometry of Binary Stars: From Voyager to TESS
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The paper provides an overview of observations of binary stars obtained by space-based missions. It is quite detailed, particularly when discussing the recent results from Kepler, K2, and TESS. There certainly were observations discussed of which I was unaware, so as a review paper, it has already succeeded in its task. The author has certainly provided a solid overview.
My only quibble with the paper -- in places it can seem like a laborious read because of the 'TESS observed object x at period a, object y at period b' approach. Offhand, I do not have a suggestion for improvement, nor even a requirement for acceptance. I just note it. This quibble largely applies to the sections on Kepler, K2, and TESS where it felt as if I was pushing through deep water. For the binaries observed with earlier missions, the overall review is briefer. The paragraph at lines 500-510 is a short example.
Three minor points: mis-spelled words 'excellent' on line 242 and 'difficult' on line 1068.
The only other correction needed is a vague reference around line 824 -- the use of the word 'these' is not clear in that sentence. The author discusses Kepler-47 with three planets with orbital periods of 49.5, 303.2, and 187.4 d, then mentions 'these' planets in the context of orbit stability and requiring periods of 49.5 to 1107 d. The clarity of the author's intent should be improved.
Author Response
RESPONSE TO POINT 1: A small amount of rewording has been performed to increase the variety of the words used. The author agrees that in some places the material has become a bit dense because there are a lot of objects and results to mention.
RESPONSE TO POINT 2: Fixed.
RESPONSE TO POINT 3: Fixed. This appears to be line 524 not 824. Changed "these" to "the known circumbinary" for clarity.
GENERAL RESPONSE: At the request of one referee a table has been included with basic information about all the space missions discussed in the review. The title of the review has been slightly changed as well (from "eclipsing binaries" to "binary stars") to make it more inclusive and better reflect its contents. A few minor rewordings and spelling corrections have also been performed.
Reviewer 2 Report
The reviewed paper, "Space-Based Photometry Of Eclipsing Binaries:
From Voyager To TESS" (J.Southworth) is a very complete and exhaustive
description of the space missions during which eclipsing variables were
observed. The paper is illustrated with very instructive figures
showing, in particular, light curves of specific binary systems.
This work can be used not only for professional researchers but also
for educational purposes (e.g. as part of courses "Binary stars",
"Space-based astronomy", etc.).
The list of Detached Eclipsing Binaries
https://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/jkt/debcat/
(page 25) is an extremely valuable source of data on stellar parameters
and deserves much wider publicity.
If the author adds to the text a summary table (and maybe a picture)
containing information about all the space missions mentioned,
this would beautify the manuscript and, of course, make it more cited.
Such a table could include the operation years of the mission, the
spectral range, the number of objects studied, photometric accuracy, etc.
However, even without this, the article is very useful and instructive,
and may well be published in the Universe journal.
Author Response
RESPONSE TO POINT: A table has been added included with basic information about all the space missions discussed in the review.
GENERAL RESPONSE: The title of the review has been slightly changed (from "eclipsing binaries" to "binary stars") to make it more inclusive and better reflect its contents. A few minor rewordings and spelling corrections have also been performed.
Reviewer 3 Report
The paper, titled with 'Space-Based Photometry Of Eclipsing Binaries: From Voyager To TESS', provides a review of studies of eclipsing binaries with different space-based telescopes based on the author's point of view. A broad history as well as detailed examples are given in the paper. The paper would be interesting to many readers in the binary-star or stellar-physics field and those who would like to learn about space-based UV-optical-Infrared telescopes. The paper is long and well written. I recommend the publication.
Author Response
At the request of one referee a table has been included with basic information about all the space missions discussed in the review. The title of the review has been slightly changed as well (from "eclipsing binaries" to "binary stars") to make it more inclusive and better reflect its contents. A few minor rewordings and spelling corrections have also been performed.
