Not-So-Bright Bulbs

Spitzer_ssc2008-22a_1024

spitzer_ssc2008-22a December 10th, 2008

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC)

This artist's concept shows the dimmest star-like bodies currently known -- twin brown dwarfs referred to as 2M 0939. The twins, which are about the same size, are drawn as if viewed from one side.

Brown dwarfs are neither planets nor stars. They form like stars out of collapsing clouds of gas and dust, but they don't have enough mass to ignite nuclear burning in their cores and become full-blown stars. They are similar to Jupiter in that they are cool balls of gas, but they are warmer and heavier. Astronomers say that the universe is littered with these cosmic misfits, but because they are so dim, they are hard to find.

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is fitted with heat-seeking infrared eyes, which allow it to detect the minute glow of cool objects like brown dwarfs. Data from Spitzer and the Anglo-Australian Observatory in Australia together reveal that both of the brown dwarfs making up 2M 0939 share the title of dimmest known brown dwarfs. Their atmospheres are also among the coolest known for any brown dwarf (565 to 635 Kelvin or 560 to 680 degrees Fahrenheit).

The term "brown dwarf" comes from the fact that these objects change color over time, and therefore do not have a definitive color. The 2M 0939 brown dwarfs, if we could see them directly with out eyes, would glow a very dark magenta color, due to their cool temperatures and the presence of water, methane and ammonia gases in their atmospheres.

2M 0939's full name is 2MASS J09393548-2448279 after the partly NASA-funded infrared mission, the Two Micron All Sky Survey, or "2MASS," which first detected the object in 1999.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1974-ssc2008-22a-Not-So-Bright-Bulbs

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Public Domain

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Image Details

Image Type
Artwork
Object Name
2MASS J09393548-2448279
Subject - Milky Way
Star > Type > Brown Dwarf
Star > Spectral Type > T
Star > Grouping > Binary

Distance

Universescale1
17 ly
Spitzer_ssc2008-22a_1280
×
ID
ssc2008-22a
Subject Category
B.3.2.3.   B.3.3.9.   B.3.6.1.  
Subject Name
2MASS J09393548-2448279
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC)
Release Date
2008-12-10
Lightyears
17
Redshift
17
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1974-ssc2008-22a-Not-So-Bright-Bulbs
Type
Artwork
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Instrument
Color Assignment
Band
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
Reference Value
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Spitzer Space Telescope
URL
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
Public Domain
Publisher
Spitzer Science Center
Publisher ID
spitzer
Resource ID
ssc2008-22a.tif
Metadata Date
2011-09-02
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
17

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