Context :

Aims : Using the speckle camera SHARP at the 3.5m ESO NTT , Köhler and collaborators found an object \sim 3.5 mag fainter in K only 1.3 ^ { \prime \prime } north-east of the T Tauri star [ MR81 ] H \alpha 17 in the Corona Australis ( CrA ) star-forming region , which could be either a brown dwarf or a T Tauri star with an edge-on disk .
We attempt to study this faint object in detail .

Methods : We acquired deep VLT NACO near-infrared images at three epochs to determine , whether [ MR81 ] H \alpha 17 and the nearby faint object are comoving and to measure the infrared colors of both objects .
We obtained optical and infrared spectra of both objects with the VLT using FORS and ISAAC , respectively , to determine spectral types and temperatures as well as ages and masses .

Results : The T Tauri star [ MR81 ] H \alpha 17 and the faint nearby object have a projected separation of 1369.58 mas , i.e .
178 AU at 130 pc .
They share the same proper motion ( \sim 5 \sigma ) , so that they most certainly form a bound binary pair .
The apparently fainter component [ MR81 ] H \alpha 17 NE has a spectral type of M2e , while the apparently brighter component [ MR81 ] H \alpha 17 SW , the previously known T Tauri star , has a spectral type of M4-5e .
We can identify a nearly edge-on disk around [ MR81 ] H \alpha 17 NE by visual inspection , which has a diameter of at least 30 to 50 AU .
We are able to detect strong emission lines in [ MR81 ] H \alpha 17 NE , which are almost certainly due to ongoing accretion .
The NE object is detectable only by means of its scattered light .

Conclusions : If both objects are co-eval ( 2-3 Myr ) and located at the same distance ( \sim 130 pc as CrA ) , then the apparently fainter [ MR81 ] H \alpha 17 NE is more massive ( primary ) component with a nearly edge-on disk and the apparently brigther component [ MR81 ] H \alpha 17 SW is less massive ( companion ) .
Both are low-mass T Tauri stars with masses of \sim 0.5 and 0.23 \pm 0.05 M _ { \odot } , respectively .