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Credit & Copyright: Bill
Snyder
(at Sierra Remote
Observatories)
Explanation:
The yellowish star near center in this dusty
telescopic
skyview is T Tauri, prototype of the class of
T Tauri variable stars.
Just next door is the yellow cosmic cloud
historically
known as Hind's Variable Nebula (NGC 1555).
Over 400 light-years away, at the edge of an
otherwise invisible molecular cloud, both star and nebula
are seen to vary significantly in
brightness but not necessarily at the same time,
adding to the mystery of the intriguing region.
T Tauri stars are now generally recognized as young
(less than a few million years old), sun-like stars still in the
early stages of
formation.
To further
complicate the picture, infrared observations indicate
that T Tauri itself is part of a multiple system and
suggest that the associated
Hind's
Nebula may also contain a very young stellar object.
The naturally colored image spans about 7 light-years at the estimated
distance of T Tauri.
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& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: T Tauri
Publications with words: T Tauri
See also: