what are t tauri stars?
Wisps of dust and gas from the nebula which formed the star can also be seen. Credit: Atlas Image courtesy of 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF. Named for the first of their type observed, T Tauri stars are variable stars which show both periodic and random fluctuations in their brightnesses. They are newly-formed (< 10 million years old) low to intermediate mass stars (< 3 solar masses) with central temperatures too low for nuclear fusion to have started.