Astronomers have discovered the coldest star of its kind - as frosty as Earth's North Pole - just 7.2 light years away.
Using Nasa's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and the Spitzer Space Telescopes, a Pennsylvania State University astronomer spotted the "brown dwarf" - a dim, star-like body.
Images from the space telescopes pinpointed the object's distance at 7.2 light years, making it the fourth closest system to our Sun. "It is very exciting to discover a new neighbour of our solar system that is so close," said Kevin Luhman, an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State.
"In addition, its extreme temperature should tell us a lot about the atmospheres of planets which often have similarly cold temperatures," said Luhman. Brown dwarfs start their lives like stars, as collapsing balls of gas, but they lack the mass to burn nuclear fuel and radiate starlight.
The newfound coldest brown dwarf, named WISE J085510.83-071442.5, has a chilly temperature between minus 48 to minus 13 degrees Celsius. Previous record holders for coldest brown dwarfs were found to be about room temperature.
Using Nasa's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and the Spitzer Space Telescopes, a Pennsylvania State University astronomer spotted the "brown dwarf" - a dim, star-like body.
Images from the space telescopes pinpointed the object's distance at 7.2 light years, making it the fourth closest system to our Sun. "It is very exciting to discover a new neighbour of our solar system that is so close," said Kevin Luhman, an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State.
"In addition, its extreme temperature should tell us a lot about the atmospheres of planets which often have similarly cold temperatures," said Luhman. Brown dwarfs start their lives like stars, as collapsing balls of gas, but they lack the mass to burn nuclear fuel and radiate starlight.
The newfound coldest brown dwarf, named WISE J085510.83-071442.5, has a chilly temperature between minus 48 to minus 13 degrees Celsius. Previous record holders for coldest brown dwarfs were found to be about room temperature.
This animation shows the coldest brown dwarf yet seen, and the fourth closest system to our sun.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Penn State
This
diagram illustrates the locations of the star systems closest to the
sun. The year when the distance to each system was determined is listed
after the system's name.
Image Credit: Penn State University
