NASA News: Hubble Images Show Dancing Brown Dwarfs
NASA has revealed new images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope showing brown dwarfs locked in a cosmic dance. The stellar objects were located in the Luhman 16AB system — a mere six thousand light-years away.
Brown dwarfs, also known as "failed stars" are objects that are too large to be classified as a planet yet too small to be a star. They range from double the size of the largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter, and just over one-half of one percent of the Sun.
While the images revealed by NASA appear to show the brown dwarfs in constant motion, it was, in fact, a stack of 12 images taken by Hubble over the span of three years. The space agency also released a GIF showing the objects' supposed "dance." The celestial objects captured are named Luhman 16A and Luhman 16B and orbit each other at a distance three times that of the Earth from the Sun.
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The European Space Agency lauded the images as a showcase of the Hubble's ability to capture images of deep space with precision and in high resolution. The brown dwarfs were put under observation by a team led by astronomer Luigi Bedin, in hopes of finding an exoplanet among them. However, it is now apparent that the two celestial objects are alone in their cosmic waltz.
This phenomenon could be happening as well in other corners of the universe, places that even the Hubble cannot see. This is because astronomers know there are more low-density objects, like brown dwarfs, than high-density objects.
The Luhman 16AB system's close proximity to the solar system makes it the perfect place to study brown dwarfs. Bedin and his team will continue to study the system in order to improve the precision of their measured orbital parameters. They are also hoping to find more Earth-sized exoplanets especially those capable of sustaining life. Such is the mission of NASA for the foreseeable future.
