GK Tauri is a young binary system composed of T Tauri-type pre-main sequence stars in the constellation of Taurus about away, belonging to the Taurus Molecular Cloud.
System
The stars GV Tauri A (GV Tauri S) and G Tauri B (GV Tauri N) form a wide binary system, with the projected separation between components being 170 AU. Both are strongly shrouded by circumstellar dust - GV Tauri A by 30 magnitudes and the GV Tauri B up to 59 magnitudes in the V band. Both components are suspected to be binaries themselves, as they produce strongly ionized jets and molecular outflows.
Properties
Both members of the binary system are medium-mass objects still contracting towards the main sequence and accreting mass, although accretion rates remain highly uncertain as of 2009.
Protoplanetary system
Both stars are surrounded by protoplanetary disks, with the observable dust in each being about , and the gas about 0.005 . The disk of GV Tauri B is rich in carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and, unusually, methane.
References
Binary stars
T Tauri stars
Circumstellar disks
Taurus (constellation) J04292373+2433002 Tauri, GV