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Brown dwarf
A brown dwarf is an object which is made of the same stuff as stars, but does not have enough mass for hydrogen fusion (combining hydrogen atoms into helium atoms). Hydrogen fusion is what makes stars glow. Brown dwarfs are not massive enough to do this, so they are not stars. On the other hand, they are not regular giant planets, because they do glow. There are probably lots of them, but few have been found because they have only a very dim glow.
Their mass is between the heaviest gas giants and the lightest stars, with an upper limit around 75 to 80 times the mass of Jupiter (MJ).[1] Brown dwarfs more massive than 13 MJ are thought to fuse deuterium and those above ~65 MJ, fuse lithium as well.[2]
Despite their name, most brown dwarfs would appear magenta to the human eye.[3] The nearest known brown dwarf is WISE 1049-5319 about 6.5 light years away, a binary system of brown dwarves discovered in 2013.
- ↑ Boss, Alan (2001). "Are they planets or what?". Carnegie Institution of Washington. Archived from the original on 2006-09-28. Retrieved 2006-06-08.
- ↑ Nicholos Wethington (2008). "Dense exoplanet creates classification calamity". Universe Today. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
- ↑ "Burgasser A.J. 2008. Brown dwarfs: failed stars, super Jupiters" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-03-16.
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