| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,799,877,899 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
T Tauri star |
Also found in: Wikipedia | 0.03 sec. |
T Tauri starAny of a class of very young stars with masses less than about twice the Sun's. Characterized by unpredictable changes in brightness, they represent an early stage in stellar evolution, having only recently been formed by the gravitational condensation of interstellar gas and dust. The energy by which they shine derives from the gravitational collapse itself. These young stars, though now contracting more slowly, are still relatively unstable and will remain so until their interior temperatures become high enough to support nuclear fusion for energy generation. More than 500 T Tauri stars have been observed. T Tauri star [′tē ′tȯr·ē ‚stär] (astronomy) A star, with mass from 0.5 to 2.5 solar masses, in an early stage of formation at which interaction with its associated nebulosity, as well as possible internal instabilities, make it variable in luminosity and render its spectrum very peculiar. Also known as nebular variable. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in periodicals archive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Classical T Tauri stars are often surrounded by dust and gas. T Tauri stars show outbursts of this kind, and so do FU Orionis stars, but FU Orionis spectra show absorption of light by calcium, whereas Object 50 shows emission by calcium. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|