On the nature of the photometric activity of the T Tauri star V1184 Tau

We present our 2-year-long photometric (V, R _c, I _c) observations of the T Tauri star V1184 Tau. They show that the relatively quiet “photometric life” of this object, which ended in 2004 with a sharp brightness decline by four magnitudes, was succeeded by a qualitatively new (in nature) period of activity characterized by high-amplitude irregular photometric variability. Judging by its color variations, the object belongs to the class of UX Ori stars and, hence, variable circumstellar extinction is responsible for its brightness variations. Moreover, the (V?I _c)/V color-magnitude diagram for the object is identical to that for UX Ori itself, suggesting that the optical properties of dust grains in the circumstellar space of these stars are similar. At the same time, V1184 Tau is quite dissimilar to UX Ori stars in its light curve, variability amplitude (reaching 4.5 magnitudes in the V band), and some other parameters.