Pennsylvania State University
Penn State University/NASA/JPL-Caltech via NASA(HOUSTON) -- Two NASA space telescopes have discovered a “brown dwarf” -- a star without the mass to burn nuclear fuel and radiate light -- that’s as cold as the North Pole, according to the space agency.“It is remarkable that even after many decades of studying the sky, we still do not have a complete inventory of the sun’s nearest neighbors,” NASA scientist Michael Werner said in a statement Friday.The star is surprisingly close: it ranks as the fourth-closest star system to Earth’s sun at 7.2 light-years away (the closest star system, Alpha Centauri, is four light-years away).“It’s very exciting to discover a new neighbor of our solar system that is so close,” said Kevin Luhman, a Pennsylvania State University astronomer. “And given its extreme temperature, it should tell us a lot about the atmospheres of planets, which often have similarly cold temperatures.”The temperatures on this brown dwarf is between minus-54 and 9 degrees Fahrenheit. Brown dwarfs lack the mass to shed light or much heat, making them hard to detect without a telescope that can use an infrared lens.Other brown dwarf stars that humans have discovered have been approximately room temperature. Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio
-
25 items
A Gallery of Our Favorite Visionary Celebrity Aquarians Inside
-
26 items
Jayce’s Journey Inc. Celebrates Autism Awareness Month With Star Studded Sneaker Ball Gala [Photos]
-
34 items
Our Favorite Pics From Lil Nas X’s Set at The Final Four Music Fest in Houston
-
7 items
Houston’s Hottie is BACK: See Pics And Video From Megan Thee Stallion’s March Madness Show
-
[VIDEO] Josh Levi Goes Vinyl Shopping with Young Jas, Talks New Album + More
-
[VIDEO] ‘Soak City’ Rapper 310babii Explains How YouTube Helped Him Score A Smash Single
-
Propain Talks Growing As An Artist, New Album Features and ‘Bussin’ Single ft DJ Chose
-
[VIDEO] New Jack City LIVE Cast Talk Returning To H-Town, Onstage Mistakes and More
Get Informed!