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KIC 2856960 is a star in the Kepler field which was observed by Kepler for 4years. It shows the primary and secondary eclipses of a close binary of 0.258das well as complex dipping events that last for about 1.5d at a time and recuron a 204d period. The dips are thought to result when the close binary passesacross the face of a third star. In this paper we present an attempt to modelthe dips. Despite the apparent simplicity of the system and strenuous effortsto find a solution, we find that we cannot match the dips with a triple starwhile satisfying Kepler's laws. The problem is that to match the dips theseparation of the close binary has to be larger than possible relative to theouter orbit given the orbital periods. Quadruple star models can get round thisproblem but require the addition of a so-far undetected intermediate period oforder 5 -- 20d that has be a near-perfect integer divisor of the outer 204dperiod. Although we have no good explanation for KIC 2856960, using the fullset of Kepler data we are able to update several of its parameters. We alsopresent a spectrum showing that KIC 2856960 is dominated by light from a K3- orK4-type star.

KIC 2856960: the impossible triple star