Chi Tauri


Chi Tauri is a star system in the constellation of Taurus. Parallax measurements made by the Hipparcos spacecraft put it at a distance of about 291 light years from Earth. The primary component has an apparent magnitude of about 5.4, meaning it is visible with the naked eye.
The main component of the system is Chi Tauri A. It is a B-type main-sequence star. Its mass is 2.6 times that of the Sun and its surface glows with an effective temperature of 10,300 K. It may be a binary star itself, as suggested from astrometric data from Hipparcos, although no orbit could be derived.
The secondary component of the system is Chi Tauri B, separated about 19″ from Chi Tauri A. It was thought to be a post-T Tauri star from its unusual spectrum, but later studies ruled this out. It is a double-lined spectroscopic binary—the two stars are not resolved but their spectra have periodic Doppler shifts indicating orbital motion. The two stars are an F-type star and a G-type star, respectively, and are designated Ba and Bb.
The radial velocity of Chi Tauri B has a slow drift indicating the presence of another star in the system. Designated Chi Tauri Bc, this massive object is too dim to be detected, but it appears in Chi Tauri B's spectrum as an infrared excess. Because of this infrared excess, this unseen component is thought to be a pair of K-type main-sequence stars both with masses 70% of the Sun. The stars within the system appear to be dynamically interacting.

Naming