Tau

Its story

Tau Canis Majoris is the burning heart of the open cluster NGC 2362, a grouping so young that many of its stars still live wrapped in shreds of their natal gas. It is one of the very few naked-eye type O stars, a titanic blue forge some 3 000 light-years away whose ultraviolet light sculpts its surroundings. It is also a multiple system of several components and exhibits subtle variations that remind us how burning faster means dying sooner.