Astronomers have spotted “something” near Alpha Centauri A, in the star system nearest our Earth and sun. If it turns out to be a planet, it’ll be the first time a planet has been directly imaged within the habitable zone of a star. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/alpha-centauri-a-planet-candidate-direct-image-discovery…
Tag: brown dwarf
Striped brown dwarf looks a lot like Jupiter
The surface features of brown dwarfs – objects midway in mass between planets and stars – can’t be seen. But researchers have found a way to reveal Jupiter-like stripes and bands in the atmosphere of the closest brown dwarf, Luhman 16B. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/brown-dwarf-luhman-16b-jupiter-like-stripes…
New and rare direct image of a brown dwarf
Astronomers have obtained one of the best images yet of a brown dwarf, an object in a mass range midway between stars and planets. This brown dwarf – called HD 33632 Ab – lies 86 light-years from our sun. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/new-brown-dwarf-direct-image-hd-33632-ab…
Winds and jet streams found on the closest brown dwarf
A University of Arizona-led research team has found bands and stripes on the brown dwarf closest to Earth, hinting at the processes churning the brown dwarf’s atmosphere from within. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-01-jet-streams-closest-brown-dwarf.html…
Direct image of newly discovered brown dwarf captured
Astronomers using two Maunakea Observatories—Subaru Telescope and W. M. Keck Observatory—have discovered a key benchmark brown dwarf orbiting a sun-like star just 86 light-years from Earth that provides a key reference point for understanding the properties of the first directly-imaged exoplanets. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-12-image-newly-brown-dwarf-captured.html…
Faint super-planet discovered by radio telescope
For the first time, astronomers have used observations from a radio telescope and a pair of observatories on Maunakea to discover and characterize a cold brown dwarf, also known as a “super planet” or “failed star.” The discovery, designated BDR J1750+3809, is the first substellar object detected through radio observations—until now, brown dwarfs have largely been found from infrared sky surveys….
Radio observations detect new brown dwarf
Using the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope, an international team of astronomers has discovered a new radio source that turns out to be a cold brown dwarf. The object, designated BDR 1750+3809, is so far the first radio-selected brown dwarf, which proves that such sources can be also directly identified by sensitive wide-area radio surveys. The finding is reported in a…
Giant ‘survivor’ planet found orbiting dead star
For the first time, astronomers have detected a planet orbiting a white dwarf star. If further confirmed, the discovery shows that some planets could survive the destruction of their sun-like stars, and some might even remain potentially habitable. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/survivor-planet-wd-1856-b-orbiting-white-dwarf…
What are brown dwarfs?
A brown dwarf is more massive than a planet, but less massive than a star. Exactly how much more and less? Source: https://earthsky.org/space/definition-what-are-brown-dwarfs…
Are there more rogue planets than stars in our galaxy?
A new study suggests there are more rogue, free-floating planets – unconnected to any star – than stars in our Milky Way galaxy. NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is expected to begin finding hundreds of them. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/rogue-planets-milky-way-roman-space-telescope…