Not everybody is familiar with the term ‘brown dwarf’ when it comes to astronomy. Also known as a failed star, a brown dwarf is the designation of a cosmic object that’s intermediate in size between a small star and a giant planet. It’s also believed to emit mainly infrared radiation.
According to ScienceAlert, the James Webb Space Telescope from NASA has detected clouds made of silicate in the atmosphere of a brown dwarf known as VHS 1256-1257 b. This means that some worlds located beyond our Solar System have clouds made of rock, and the discovery helps astronomers understand failed stars in a better way.
VHS 1256-1257 b is located 72 light-years away from Earth
At 72 light-years away, it means that the brown dwarf is practically “next-door” to us – just a few other stars away. The brown dwarf also has a similar atmospheric composition to other failed stars that were studied in wavelengths.
The researchers provided details, and an official statement says:
Water, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sodium, and potassium are observed in several portions of the JWST spectrum based on comparisons from template brown dwarf spectra, molecular opacities, and atmospheric models,
For the first time ever, scientists also found clouds of silicate particles in a thick layer.
Another important statement says, as the same source quotes:
These initial results from the JWST early release science observations are groundbreaking and also obtainable for numerous other nearby brown dwarfs that will be observed in future observation cycles,
This observatory will be a trailblazer, pushing our understanding of atmospheric physics in planetary-companions, brown dwarfs, and exoplanets for years to come.
The James Webb Space Telescope will also continue its explorations towards other areas as well – studying the farthest stars in the Universe is one of the objectives.
The new research can be found on arXiv.
