The first multi-color photometric study of the short-period contact eclipsing binary GK Aqr

•We obtained the first VRI light curve of an eclipsing contact binary GK Aqr.•We derived photometric orbital parameters of GK Aqr using WD program.•The orbital period of GK Aqr shows an increasing trend.

We made the first VRI   CCD light curves of the short-period contact eclipsing binary GK Aqr, which was observed on October 5 and 8, 2013 at Xinglong station of National Astronomical Observatories, China. The ephemeris of GK Aqr was calculated based on our two newly obtained minima and the minima that other observers obtained previously. We discovered that the orbital period of GK Aqr exhibits an increasing trend of Ṗ=2.8(0.1)×10-7 days/year by means of fitting the O-C values of the minima. This phenomenon might be explained by mass transfer from the primary (less massive) component to the secondary (more massive) one. With the updated Wilson & Devinney program, we obtained the photometric orbital parameters for the first time. Using our parameters, we also successfully explained the light curve obtained from the All Sky Automated Survey data. In the end, we concluded that GK Aqr is a near contact binary with a low contact factor of 5.2%. As the mass transfer continues, GK Aqr could become a contact system and evolve into an over-contact system.