For the first time, humanity has gained a clearer understanding of the mysterious object that exists between the failed star phase and the super planet phase, thanks to the incredible James Webb Space Telescope.
According to Sci-News, using spectroscopic data from NASA/ESA/CSA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered evidence of clouds of sand as well as water, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sodium, and potassium in the atmosphere of the young Brown Dwarf VHS J125601.92-125723.9b, abbreviated as VHS J1256b.
NASA reports that this is the largest number of molecules identified simultaneously on an exoplanet. The planet VHS 1256 b was first discovered in 2015 by the Vista telescope in Chile. This giant gas planet is approximately 12 to 18 times the size of Jupiter, with a day lasting about 22 hours. The silicate clouds (composed of silicon and oxygen) on the planet rise and mix throughout the day as temperatures fluctuate, reaching up to 816 degrees Celsius.
According to Beth Biller, a co-author of the study from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, the finer silicate particles in the atmosphere of VHS 1256 b may resemble tiny smoke particles, while larger particles could resemble very hot grains of sand. VHS 1256 b takes about 10,000 years to orbit its two host stars. The planet is relatively young, having formed only 150 million years ago, compared to the Earth and Jupiter, which formed 4.5 and 4.6 billion years ago, respectively.
Graphic depiction of a brown dwarf.
VHS J1256b is part of a triple brown dwarf system located 72 light-years from Earth in the constellation Corvus (the Crow). This system of three brown dwarfs is approximately 140 million years old.
VHS J1256b is positioned 150 astronomical units (AU, the distance from the Sun to Earth) away from the other two brown dwarfs in the system, while the other two brown dwarfs orbit closely together as a pair.
Although referred to as “stars,” objects like VHS J1256b are not truly stars but exist in a state that is half-star, half-planet. It is too large to be a planet and possesses many characteristics that exceed those of a planet, yet it is too small to sustain nuclear fusion in its core like a star.
Thus, brown dwarfs are also known as “failed stars” or “super planets.”
Like stars, they arise “from nothing,” meaning they emerge from a cloud of gas and dust rather than forming from a protoplanetary disk like other planets. They do not have a “parent star,” drifting alone in the universe, dim and colder than any type of star. Some brown dwarfs are believed to be cool enough to support life, similar to a planet.
The newly discovered brown dwarf is relatively small in the community of brown dwarfs, with a radius 1.27 times that of Jupiter and weighing about 11 to 19 times more than Jupiter.
In the recent study, astronomer Brittany Miles from the University of California and her colleagues collected and analyzed detailed spectra of VHS J1256b.
“The light observed from an exoplanet contains information about the planet’s composition, atmospheric dynamics, and other significant physical characteristics,” she explained.
The authors noted that the spectrum of VHS J1256b is one of the broadest wavelength covers and the highest signal-to-noise ratio for a brown dwarf or planet observed so far, making it a treasure trove of data despite the absence of life.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect is the silicate clouds, or clouds of sand, that float in the sky of this bizarre world.
“The characteristics of VHS 1256b paint a picture of a very dynamic atmosphere, where chaotic convection drives both chemical imbalance and the formation of condensing gases, creating mottled silicate clouds that lead to planetary transformation,” the authors wrote.
