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Credit & Copyright: Dawn Lowry,
Gian Lorenzo Ferretti, Ewa Pasiak and Terry Felty
Explanation:
The star with an orange tint near top center in this dusty
telescopic frame
is T Tauri, prototype of the class of T
Tauri variable stars.
Next to it (right) is a yellow cosmic cloud
historically
known as Hind's Variable Nebula (NGC 1555).
About 650 light-years away,
at the boundary
of the
local
bubble
and the Taurus 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 well-composed image spans about 8 light-years at the estimated
distance of T Tauri.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: T Tauri
Publications with words: T Tauri
See also: