A recent discovery by a group of researchers has unveiled a brown dwarf with temperatures far surpassing those of the Sun.
Brown Dwarf. (Illustration: newsspacedream).
According to Sputnik (Russia), located 1,400 light-years away from Earth, the newly discovered brown dwarf has been named WD0032-317B. This object was identified by a team of researchers led by astrophysicist Na’ama Hallakoun from the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel).
Specifically, the brown dwarf WD0032-317B orbits its host star on an orbit so close 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 synthesized atoms. In contrast, the Sun’s temperature is only at approximately 5,778 Kelvin (5,505 degrees Celsius).
Therefore, this brown dwarf has broken the record for the hottest object in the universe. Typically, brown dwarfs are hotter than gas giant planets, but they are still cooler compared to the coldest red dwarf stars.
Previously, NASA (the United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration) described brown dwarfs as small, low-mass stars, acting as intermediate objects between gas giant planets. Brown dwarfs have masses ranging from 13 to 80 times that of Jupiter. Although many brown dwarfs have been discovered to date, finding such a hot object orbiting another star is a rare occurrence.
These celestial objects are usually challenging to observe due to their low light emission and energy levels. In fact, scientists first identified brown dwarfs in the late 1980s.
In addition to this intriguing discovery of an exceptionally hot object, the group of astronomers has claimed that the brown dwarf WD0032-317B could provide them with a better understanding of Jupiter and other gas giant planets orbiting massive, hot stars, which are challenging to study due to their activity and rotation speeds.