ASA’s Webb Identifies Tiniest Free-Floating Brown Dwarf (IMAGE)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

ASA’s Webb Identifies Tiniest Free-Floating Brown Dwarf

Caption

This image from the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows the central portion of the star cluster IC 348. Astronomers combed the cluster in search of tiny, free-floating brown dwarfs: objects too small to be stars but larger than most planets. They found three brown dwarfs that are less than eight times the mass of Jupiter, which are circled in the main image and shown in the detailed pullouts at right. The smallest weighs just three to four times Jupiter, challenging theories for star formation.

 

Credit

NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Luhman (Penn State University), and C. Alves de Oliveira (ESA)

Usage Restrictions

No restrictions.

License

Public Domain

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