The great stellar dimming of T Tauri has begun – Big Think
The story of how our own Sun was born remains a cosmic mystery.Formed 4.6 billion years in the past, we can only see what presently survives.But elsewhere in the galaxy, Sun-like stars form continuously.One young example, T Tauri, became notable in the mid-1800s.Not only does its brightness vary with time, but a nearby nebula shows variability as well.These emission line-rich, variable stars represent young Sun-like stars: under 3 million years old.In 1980, an infrared companion star was discovered: T Tauri South.Then, in 1997, T Tauri South was shown to be a binary, making T Tauri a triplet system.The “southern” binary, shrouded in a ring of dusty material, is completely blocked in visible light.The original, now called T Tauri North, remained at a constant brightness from 1970-2016.Then, starting in 2017, T Tauri North began dimming significantly.Why? Because the dusty disk around the T Tauri South binary is passing in front of it!Predicted back in 2003, this dimming, and reddening, is now occurring.As the obscuration intensifies, T Tauri North may disappear completely in visible light.Absorption spectroscopy will study T Tauri South’s circumbinary disk: revealing its density, depth, and composition.Mostly Mute Monday tells an astronomical story in images, visuals, and no more than 200 words.
Source: https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/stellar-dimming-t-tauri/
