Strange Brown Dwarf Star Cluster Found

Brown Dwarf Star Credit: Wikimedia commons

Astronomers have found an unusual number of brown dwarf stars in the cluster NGC 1333.

Astronomers have spotted higher-than-expected numbers of the strange celestial objects known as brown dwarfs hanging out in the cluster NGC 1333, a gas and dust cloud that harbors young stars. The results suggest that there may be something particular about the environment in NGC 1333 that causes bountiful brown dwarf formation.

Brown dwarfs are mid-range objects, too large to be considered a planet but not quite large enough to burn hydrogen and become a star. Most have a mass between approximately 20 and 80 times the mass of Jupiter and, when young, they glow brightly in infrared wavelength due to the heat of their formation.

Using the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii and the Very Large Telescope in Chile, both of which observe the infrared, researchers spotted 30 to 40 new brown dwarfs in NGC 1333. The researchers estimate that for every two stars in the cluster, there is one brown dwarf — significantly more than in other star-forming regions. The findings appear Oct. 11 in the Astrophysical Journal.

brown dwarf stars