Scientists have recently discovered radio waves that should not exist from an object that is half star, half planet, formed from a molecular cloud between the stars.
According to Live Science, the mysterious object is a brown dwarf named W0623, first discovered in 2011, located approximately 37 light years from Earth.
Brown dwarfs are considered objects that are half planet and half star, a type of “failed star” or “superior planet.”
Brown Dwarf – (Graphic from LIVE SCIENCE)
This finding was published in the scientific journal The Astrophysical Journal Letters on July 13. The research team, led by Dr. Kovi Rose from the University of Sydney, discovered faint radio waves from W0623, making it the coldest star to emit this form of electromagnetic radiation.
Radio waves can be naturally generated and emitted from larger and much hotter stars than W0623, due to dynamic properties.
W0623 has almost no way of emitting radio waves strong enough to be detected from Earth, yet it did so unexpectedly and mysteriously.
Theoretically, brown dwarfs can also emit natural radio waves, but only those with surface temperatures around 2,200 degrees Celsius or higher.
W0623 has a temperature of only 425 degrees Celsius, cooler than a typical campfire. It is even slightly smaller than Jupiter in size, although its mass is about 44 times greater.
The research team admits that they “cannot fully understand” why this mysterious world emits radio waves. Further studies will be needed to answer this intriguing puzzle.
Brown dwarfs themselves are also a significant mystery of the universe. They are too large to be a planet but too small to be a star.
This “in-between” size is not sufficient to sustain nuclear fusion in the core, so they do not become stars, but they also do not form like planets, as they lack a parent star.
Planets like Earth must form from the protoplanetary disk of some parent star, but brown dwarfs are like “planets from nothing,” forming from molecular clouds in the same way that stars are born.
Without a parent star, these “planets from nothing” are always shrouded in darkness, leading most scientists to believe they are unlikely to host life. However, some evidence suggests there may be certain “niches” for life, as more and more light-independent organisms are discovered right here on Earth.
Yet, due to their darkness, brown dwarfs are very difficult objects to observe. Scientists hope that increasingly advanced equipment will help them discover more of these elusive objects, further completing the still-fragmentary puzzle.
