A team of researchers has recently discovered that a brown dwarf has temperatures exceeding those emitted by the Sun.
Brown Dwarf. (Image source: newsspacedream).
According to Sputnik (Russia), located 1,400 light-years from Earth, the newly discovered brown dwarf has been named WD0032-317B. This object was discovered by a team of researchers led by astronomer Na’ama Hallakoun at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.
Specifically, the brown dwarf WD0032-317B orbits its host star in such a way that it maintains a temperature exceeding 8,000 Kelvin (7,727 degrees Celsius). Authorities note that this temperature is hot enough to break down molecules in the atmosphere into synthetic atoms. In contrast, the Sun’s temperature is only about 5,778 Kelvin (5,505 degrees Celsius).
As a result, this brown dwarf has set a record as the hottest object in the universe. Typically, brown dwarfs are hotter than planets, but they are still cooler than the coldest red dwarfs.
Previously, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) described brown dwarfs as small stars with low mass, serving as an intermediate object between giant gas planets. Brown dwarfs have a mass ranging from 13 to 80 times that of Jupiter. Although many brown dwarfs have been discovered so far, finding such a hot object orbiting other stars is a rare occurrence.
These celestial bodies are often very difficult to access because they emit low levels of light and energy. In fact, scientists first discovered brown dwarfs in the late 1980s.
In addition to this exciting discovery of an unusually hot object, the team of astronomers stated that the brown dwarf WD0032-317B could help them gain better insights into Jupiter, as well as other giant gas planets orbiting large, hot stars that are challenging to study due to their activity and rotation speed.
