44 Tauri, also known as HD 1287 and IM Tauri, is a star located about 210 light years from the Earth, in the constellation Taurus.[3] It is a 5th magnitude star, making it faintly visible to the naked eye of an observer located far from city lights. It is a Delta Scuti variable star, ranging between magnitude 5.37 and 5.58 over a period of about 3.5 hours.[4]
In 1966, Ivan Danziger and Robert Dickens discovered that 44 Tauri was a low amplitude variable star, with a period of approximately 3.22 hours.[9] In a follow-up study published the next year, they reported that the period was irregular, indicating beat phenomena, and they classified it as a δ Scuti variable.[10] In 1968, 44 Tauri was given the variable star designation IM Tauri.[11]
44 Tauri has been a popular object for detailed astroseismic and spectroscopic studies, because its very slow (relative to other δ Scuti stars) rotation speed of 3±2 km/sec does not complicate pulsation mode identification or greatly broaden spectral lines.[5][7][12] As of 2010, 44 Tauri had been found to pulsate with 15 independent periods, ranging from 1.89 to 4.52 hours.[5]