WISE J085510.83-071442.5: Brown Dwarf Is Close Neighbor Of The Sun And The Coolest Of Its Kind

Saturday, April 26, 2014 - 12:20 in Astronomy & Space

A "brown dwarf" star with the catchy name of  WISE J085510.83-071442.5 appears to be the coldest of its kind. When people think of stars, they think of hot fusion plasma bubbling and erupting.  WISE J085510.83-071442.5,  7.2 light-years away, making it the fourth closest system to our sun, is instead as frosty as Earth's North Pole. The locations of the star systems that are closest to the Sun. The year when each star was discovered to be a neighbor of  the Sun is indicated. The brown dwarf WISE J085510.83-071442.5 is the fourth nearest system to the Sun. Credit: Janella Williams, read more

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