CoKu Tau/4
| Observation data Epoch J2000.0 Equinox J2000.0 (ICRS) | |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Taurus |
| Right ascension | 04h 41m 16.809s |
| Declination | +28° 39′ 59.99″ |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 14.9 |
| Distance | ~420 ly |
| Other designations | |
CoKu Tauri/4, CoKu Tau-Aur Star 4, HBC 421, 2MASS J04411681+2840000 | |
| Data sources: | |
| SIMBAD | |
CoKu Tau/4 is a pre-main-sequence T Tauri star in the constellation Taurus. In the summer of 2004, Joel Green and Dan Watson discovered an anomaly in infrared spectroscopic data collected from the star and its circumstellar disk by the Spitzer Space Telescope. A possible explanation for the anomaly is accretion of disk material into a planet. This is of interest due to the young age of the CoKu Tau/4 system (approximately 1 million years.)
As of January 2007, the planet of CoKu Tau/4 holds the Guinness World Record for the youngest extrasolar planet.
References
- 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.
- Guinness World Records, 2006.
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