A star in the Taurus constellation is about to leave the night sky: learn how to witness this historic event without missing it.

A dim yet noticeable star in the constellation Taurus is about to leave the night sky. It will vanish behind clouds of cosmic dust. This is a unique phenomenon: the star is young, and essentially, it will wrap itself in the very material from which it was just formed. For us, it's a show: there was a star – and now it’s gone.

FIRST, LET'S FIND IT

The star is called T Taurus, and if the name contains a Latin (rather than Greek) letter, something is amiss. This is an unofficial way to mark anomalous objects. In the case of our little star, this holds true.

Finding it is not difficult. On winter evenings, the star Aldebaran shines brightly in the south-southwest, the main star in Taurus. It is wonderfully visible to the naked eye. Surrounding it is a cluster of stars known as the Hyades. This cluster was easily seen by ancient eyes, but our contemporaries are not as observant, so it’s best to view the Hyades through binoculars. Just above the Hyades lies T Taurus. However, it is even fainter, so binoculars, or preferably an amateur telescope, will be necessary.

PURE GRAVITATIONAL ENERGY

I highly recommend finding it and seeing it with your own eyes. It looks just like any other star. But it does not shine through nuclear reactions like the other stars!

T Taurus is simply too young. Nuclear reactions have not yet begun. It formed from a cloud of gas and dust, started to compress, heated up, ignited… But it is not yet hot enough for the nuclei of elements to fuse, releasing energy.

Yes, indeed, its light source is pure gravitational energy. This is definitely worth seeing! There are very few stars like this, and none that are so bright.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

In reality, where we see one star, there are actually three. Stars often do not form alone, and it’s quite strange that our Sun is all alone in the sky. However, the other members of this cosmic trio are too faint to be observed.

Young stars are generally unstable in their brightness. When a lot of material falls onto them, they shine brighter, and when they contract, they can also brighten, but there are also lean years. For instance, in 2016 and in 2022-2023, T Taurus significantly dimmed for a time.

But something different will happen now. It will disappear in its "wrappings," that is, in the clouds of gas and dust from which it itself emerged, and in which planets will form in the future.

We can guess where these "wrappings" are located based on how the other two components of the triple system are sinking into them. Very soon (tomorrow? in a month?) T Taurus will simply vanish for the earthly observer. There was a star – and now it’s gone.

And this will continue for about a hundred years. Thus, we have a chance to witness something that our descendants definitely will not see. You’ll be telling your grandchildren about it.

WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Astronomers, using large telescopes and various techniques, will try to keep an eye on the star, which may shine through the veil. And this is very important.

For we will gain insight into the material from which stars are formed, including those like our Sun. Special methods (spectral analysis) will allow us to understand the chemical composition and temperature of such an environment. We have never had such a wonderful opportunity.

"But you should also come," say professional astronomers to amateurs. They will likely not be able to pinpoint the exact moment of disappearance. Observational time on large instruments is expensive. Amateurs are swifter. It is they who will most likely witness this historic moment.

BY THE WAY

Stars occasionally disappear, often for reasons that remain unclear. Recently, astronomers sifted through the archives of observatories from the 1940s and 1950s. This period is notable because there were no artificial satellites yet, but good telescopes already existed. It turned out that since then, about 100 stars have vanished. And the reasons for their disappearance are entirely different, if only we knew what they were.