CoKu Tau/4
| Observation data Epoch J2000 Equinox J2000 | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Taurus[1] |
| Right ascension | 04h 41m 16.810s[2] |
| Declination | +28° 40′ 00.07″[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 14.68[3] |
| Characteristics | |
| Spectral type | M1.5e[4] |
| Astrometry | |
| Proper motion (μ) | RA: +4.317[2] mas/yr Dec.: −22.201[2] mas/yr |
| Parallax (π) | 6.4456±0.1146 mas[2] |
| Distance | 506 ± 9 ly (155 ± 3 pc) |
| Other designations | |
| CoKu Tauri/4, CoKu Tau-Aur Star 4, HBC 421, 2MASS J04411681+2840000[5] | |
| Database references | |
| SIMBAD | data |
CoKu Tau/4 is a pre-main-sequence binary T Tauri star system in the constellation Taurus. The stars are surrounded by a circumbinary disc with a central cavity of radius 10 astronomical units. Before its binary nature was known, the central cavity in the system's disc was thought to have been cleared out by a planet of at least 10 Jupiter masses, a rare example of a so-called "transitional disc". This model was disproven in 2008 when the star was resolved using adaptive optics as a system of two near-equal-mass stars with a projected separation of 8 AU. The central cavity is thus cleared out by the stars, not by the gravitational influence of a planet.
References
- ^ Roman, Nancy G. (1987). "Identification of a constellation from a position". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 99 (617): 695. Bibcode:1987PASP...99..695R. doi:10.1086/132034. Constellation record for this object at VizieR.
- ^ a b c d e Vallenari, A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (2023). "Gaia Data Release 3. Summary of the content and survey properties". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 674: A1. arXiv:2208.00211. Bibcode:2023A&A...674A...1G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202243940. S2CID 244398875. Gaia DR3 record for this source at VizieR.
- ^ Zacharias, N.; Finch, C. T.; Girard, T. M.; Henden, A.; Bartlett, J. L.; Monet, D. G.; Zacharias, M. I. (2012). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: UCAC4 Catalogue (Zacharias+, 2012)". Vizier Online Data Catalog. Bibcode:2012yCat.1322....0Z.
- ^ Cohen, M. (1980). "Red and nebulous objects in dark clouds : A survey". The Astronomical Journal. 85: 29. Bibcode:1980AJ.....85...29C. doi:10.1086/112630.
- ^ "CoKu Tau-Aur Star 4". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2025-11-23.
Further reading
- Ireland & Kraus (2008): The Disk Around CoKu Tauri/4: Circumbinary, Not Transitional
- How Nature Builds a Planet, Adam Frank, Discover 26 (#7, July 2005); accessed online 1-II-2007.
- On the Planet and the Disk of CoKu TAURI/4, Alice C. Quillen et al., Astrophysical Journal 612 (September 2004), pp. L137–L140; also arXiv:astro-ph/0406445.
- Pre-main sequence star Proper Motion Catalogue, C. Ducourant et al., Astronomy and Astrophysics 438 (August 2005), pp. 769–778.
- Observational studies of pre-main-sequence evolution, Martin Cohen and Leonard V. Kuhi, Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 41 (December 1979), pp. 743–843.