A new study from researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany and the European Southern Observatory includes the first weather map of a brown dwarf in space. A brown dwarf, or failed star, called Luhman 16B is the closest brown dwarfs known by astronomers at six and a half light years away from Earth.
A new study from researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany and the European Southern Observatory includes the first weather map of a brown dwarf in space.
A brown dwarf, or failed star, called Luhman 16B is the closest brown dwarfs known by astronomers at six and a half light years away from Earth.
Using Doppler satellite images from the Very Large Telescope in Chile, researchers were able to map out the atmospheric conditions on Luhman 16B.
Beth Biller, from the University of Edinburgh, who published another study on the brown dwarf, said: “We've learned that the weather patterns on these brown dwarfs are quite complex. The cloud structure of the brown dwarf varies quite strongly as a function of atmospheric depth and cannot be explained with a single layer of clouds.”
Evidence from the study says that the hydrogen atmosphere of Luhman 16B contains gas clouds of iron and various other minerals, and temperatures can reach up to 2 thousand degrees Fahrenheit.
Now that scientists have mapped out the atmospheric weather on a brown dwarf, it might help them understand other cosmic weather patterns.
