Tau Tauri, Latinized from ÃÂ Tauri (ÃÂ Tau) formally named Gaja, is a quadruple star system in the constellation Taurus. It is visible to the naked eye as a faint point of light with a combined apparent visual magnitude of 4.33. The distance to this system is approximately about 400 light years based on parallax. The system is moving further from the Earth with a heliocentric radial velocity of +14.6 km/s, and it is a member of the Taurion OB association, located between Orion and Taurus. It is located 0.7 degree north of the ecliptic, and thus is subject to lunar occultations.
The blue-white hued primary, component Aa, is a B-type main-sequence star with a stellar classification of B3V. It was found to be a close spectroscopic binary in 1903 by American astronomers Edwin B. Frost and Walter S. Adams. The pair have an orbital period of 2.96 days and eccentricity of 0.05. A second companion, white-hued component Ab, has magnitude 6.97 and angular separation 0.2" from the primary in a 58-year orbit. This is a probably A-type main-sequence star with a class of A0VâÂÂA2V. The more distant component B is a type A1V star with magnitude 7.2 and separation 62.8".
Tau Tauri, Latinized from ÃÂ Tauri, is the star's Bayer designation. The term gaja(h) (Sanskrit: ) means elephant, and is the name of a constellation from Bali (Indonesia) corresponding to Taurus, attested in the cultural calendar called Palelintangan. The IAU Working Group on Star Names approved the name Gaja for Tau Tauri Aa (in the elephant's tusk) on 22 February 2026.