XZ Tauri is a binary system approximately 460 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. The system consists of two T Tauri stars orbiting each other about 6 billion kilometers apart (roughly the same distance as Pluto is from the Sun). The system made news in 2000 when a superflare was observed in the system.

A third star, component C, has been observed at a separation of 0.09 ", but subsequent observations failed to find it.[1][2] The T Tauri star HL Tauri, 23 " away, is also sometimes listed as a companion.[3]

The discovery by Pelageya Fedorovna Shajn, that XZ Tauri is a variable star, was announced in 1928.[4]

References

  1. ^ Osorio, Mayra; MacÍas, Enrique; Anglada, Guillem; Carrasco-González, Carlos; Galván-Madrid, Roberto; Zapata, Luis; Calvet, Nuria; Gómez, José F.; Nagel, Erick; Rodríguez, Luis F.; Torrelles, José M.; Zhu, Zhaohuan (2016). "A Dwarf Transitional Protoplanetary Disk Around Xz Tau B". The Astrophysical Journal. 825 (1): L10. arXiv:1606.03118. Bibcode:2016ApJ...825L..10O. doi:10.3847/2041-8205/825/1/L10. S2CID 59585588
  2. ^ Ichikawa, Takanori; Kido, Miyu; Takaishi, Daisuke; Shimajiri, Yoshito; Tsukamoto, Yusuke; Takakuwa, Shigehisa (2021). "Misaligned Circumstellar Disks and Orbital Motion of the Young Binary XZ Tau". The Astrophysical Journal. 919 (1): 55. arXiv:2106.11924. Bibcode:2021ApJ...919...55I. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac0dc3. S2CID 235593373
  3. ^ "XZ Tau". Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  4. ^ Beljawsky, S. (October 1928). "23 neue veränderliche Sterne. (Dritte Reihe) (in German)". Astronomische Nachrichten. 234: 41–45. Bibcode:1928AN....234...41B. doi:10.1002/asna.19282340305. Retrieved 31 August 2025.