Eclipsing binary imaged

The ecplising binary system Beta Lyrae has been imaged with interferometry. From the abstract:

We present the first resolved images of the eclipsing binary Beta Lyrae, obtained with the CHARA Array interferometer and the MIRC combiner in the H band. The images clearly show the mass donor and the thick disk surrounding the mass gainer at all six epochs of observation. The donor is brighter and generally appears elongated in the images, the first direct detection of photospheric tidal distortion due to Roche-lobe filling.

This is the beginning of a new era of imaging systems that have hitherto been observed (somewhat) indirectly. We understand systems like Beta Lyrae very, very well. But resolving the components is something new and quite exciting. The image on the right is Figure 2 from the paper and shows the images from both instruments as well as a model of the system.