Cloudy with a high of 1,742 degrees Fahrenheit (950 degrees Celsius). That’s the weather report for two planets, collectively called WISE 1049AB, which is about six light-years from the solar system.
That’s according to scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope, which was pointed at two brown dwarfs, small stars about 70 times the size of Jupiter. They are the closest brown dwarfs to the solar system.
Brightness Changes
Published today in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, researchers led by the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, studied the brown dwarfs’ atmospheres by measuring brightness changes on their surfaces. Over time, they built a 3D picture of how the weather changed during one day, which lasts just five and seven hours, respectively. They were also able to find traces of the interplay of water, methane and carbon monoxide in their atmospheres.
‘Failed Stars’
Brown dwarfs are a unique kind of object in space. Somewhere between giant planets and small stars, they’re often seen as failed stars because although they initially shine like a star, they’re too small to fuse hydrogen into helium (which is why stars shine) for long, so they quickly cool and fade.
“Our findings show that we are on the cusp of transforming our understanding of worlds far beyond our own,” said Dr. Beth Biller, lead author of the paper and an astronomer at the University of Edinburgh. “Insights such as these can help us understand the conditions not just on celestial objects like brown dwarfs, but also on giant exoplanets beyond our solar system.”
The same techniques may help scientists discover the weather conditions on habitable exoplanets orbiting other stars, she added, something that hasn’t yet been achieved.
Second Anniversary
JWST is an advanced space telescope with a massive 6.5-meter primary mirror. Its main function is to detect the faint infrared light emitted by distant stars, planets, and gas and dust clouds.
The second anniversary of JWST’s scientific debut was marked on July 12 by NASA with the release of a stunning new image. The image f an object called Arp 142 shows two distant galaxies interacting with each other, which collectively resemble a penguin guarding an egg. Arp 142 is two galaxies, NGC 2936 (the penguin’s eye) and NGC 2937 (the egg).
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Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.