Astounding Find: Brown Dwarf Larger Than Jupiter and Hotter Than the Sun
From time to time, scientists and astronomers stumble upon novel celestial entities, revealing the vast enigmas concealed within our universe. It is not uncommon for researchers to come across planets and stars that resemble or surpass the size of our own celestial bodies. Nevertheless, what captivates attention is the stark contrast between these newfound planets and stars and the existing theories regarding their characteristics. Recently, astronomers have made an intriguing discovery—a colossal brown dwarf that surpasses Jupiter in size, yet radiates a heat greater than that of the Sun.
About the brown dwarf
According to a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the newly discovered brown dwarf is between 75 and 90 times the mass of Jupiter. The daytime temperature of the dwarf is 8,000 K, which is hotter than the Sun, which has a temperature of 5,772 K.
These brown dwarfs are called failed stars because their masses are too small to burn hydrogen to initiate nuclear fusion. Even Jupiter is called a failed star. The object was named WD 0032-317B, and scientists call it an “irradiated Jupiter analog.” It orbits a white star 1,406 light-years from Earth.
One thing that surprised the researchers was that this dwarf is very hot. Brown dwarfs are generally cool and dim objects. Due to tidal locking, the day side of the small dwarf star is always directed towards the white dwarf star, whose glowing surface temperature is about 37,000 K. On the other hand, the temperature of the night side of the brown dwarf, which is close to 2,000 K, continues to be significantly lower.
These findings may come as a surprise. However, according to reports, it is not new. But finding a larger number of such brown dwarfs will provide more information about their temperature and nature.
According to reports from Gizmodo. Astronomers can study these irradiated Jupiter-like failed stars using the sharp view of the James Webb Space Telescope, just as they have done with other brown dwarfs dimmer, more distant and cooler than this one, called WD 0032-317B.
