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Here we present Spitzer 4.5 μm light curves of two intermediate polars (IPs)—DQ Her and EX Hya—obtained with Cycle 6 observations. Our initial evaluation of the light curves of DQ Her and EX Hya shows that these two IPs exhibit similar behavior as that seen in non‐magnetic systems (specifically WZ Sge). The binary eclipses seen in the Spitzer light curves of DQ Her and EX Hya are about three times longer than their optical counterparts, indicating that a reservoir of dust extends beyond the outer edge of the optically visible accretion disk.

Cataclysmic variables have been extensively observed at optical, ultraviolet, and Xray wavelengths, where their white dwarf primary stars and bright accretion disks dominate their emitted luminosity. Comparatively little is known about the infrared properties of cataclysmic variables. The assumption that infrared observations would reveal only the “uninteresting” secondary star has been shown to be false: recent infrared observations of cataclysmic variables have instead shown that cool dust in these interacting binaries is possibly the most important contributor to their spectral energy distributions at long wavelengths. We present recent results from infrared observations of the cataclysmic variable EF Eridani obtained with the Spitzer Space Telescope.