#brown dwarfs

All articles tagged with "brown dwarfs"

Citizen Scientists Help NASA Double the Known Brown Dwarf Count

Volunteers working through NASA’s Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project have identified more than 3,000 new brown dwarfs over a decade, dramatically expanding one of astronomy’s most elusive catalogs.

Key Takeaways

NASA volunteers discovered more than 3,000 brown dwarfs over 10 years.
The new paper says the effort effectively doubled the known brown dwarf population.

DT Editorial Team·May 5, 2026·via science.nasa.gov

JWST spots an object that blurs the boundary between planet and star

Direct observations of 29 Cygni b are giving astronomers a clearer look at the murky transition zone between giant planets and brown dwarfs.

Key Takeaways

JWST directly imaged 29 Cygni b, a 15-Jupiter-mass object near the planet-star boundary.
Its mass suggests a star-like classification, but detected heavier elements point toward planetary formation.

DT Editorial Team·Apr 16, 2026·via universetoday.com

Survey of exoplanet spins backs long-predicted link between mass and rotation

Using Keck Observatory data and historical measurements, astronomers found that giant planets spin faster than more massive brown dwarf counterparts when mass, size, and age are taken into account.

Key Takeaways

Researchers used Keck Observatory data and prior measurements to compare spin across exoplanets and brown dwarfs.
The survey supports a long-predicted relationship between mass and rotation.

DT Editorial Team·Apr 8, 2026·via universetoday.com