The Star T Tauri in Nebula NGC 1555 | Mayall Telescope

The Star T Tauri in Nebula NGC 1555 | Mayall Telescope

T Tauri is a famous variable star in the constellation of Taurus. In this image, it is the star at the center, embedded in dust and gas. The nebula itself is known as NGC 1555. T Tauri is a variable star in the constellation Taurus, the prototype of the T Tauri stars. T Tauri is the prototype for a class of stars (known collectively as "T Tau stars") that are notable because they are very young stars in the process of forming. These stars have just recently emerged from the dense dust and gas "cocoons" from which they formed. 

Distance: ~450 light years

The Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope is a four-meter (158 inches) reflector telescope in Arizona named after the American observational astronomer of the same name. The telescope saw first light on February 27, 1973, and was the second-largest in the world at that time.

Credit: T. A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, H. Schweiker/WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Release Date: June 30, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Nebulae #Nebula #VariableNebula #NGC1555 #Star #TTauri #TTauStars #Taurus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #KittPeakNationalObservatory #KPNO #MayallTelescope #Arizona #UniversityOfAlaska #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education