We have confirmation that some alien worlds have clouds of rock, thanks to new observations from the james wbb space telescope.
This is the first time that a detection of silicate clouds in the atmosphere of a brown dwarf has been made outside of the solar system.
The team says that the complete findings are the best yet. The results could help us better understand failed stars, but they are just a taste of what the JWST can do.
The paper is available for download on arXiv while it undergoes peer review and publication.
A brown dwarf is a slightly different kettle of fish than an exoplanet.
When a baby star doesn't accumulate enough mass to kick start hydrogen fusion in its core, they occupy the mass regime between the planets and the weeniest stars.
At around 13.6 times the mass of Jupiter, brown dwarfs can combine hydrogen with a protons and a neutron in the nucleus.
Brown dwarfs are kind of like stars because of their lower fusion pressure and temperature.
Brown dwarfs have their own heat and light. It is less than stars, but we can detect it directly, thanks to the expertise of the JWST.
The observations obtained by a team led by astronomer Brittany Miles of the University of California of Santa Cruz are from a brown dwarf some 72 light years away.
It is 19 times the mass of Jupiter and has a reddish-colored atmosphere.
This hue has been attributed to clouds in young brown dwarfs, so the team looked for the brown dwarf's composition.
Different elements absorb and re-emit light. The spectrum can be used by scientists to see dimmer and brighter features.
The team found that VHS 1256-1 257 b had the same atmospheric composition as other brown dwarfs.
The researchers say that water, methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sodium, and potassium are observed in several portions of the JWST spectrum.
The researchers say that the carbon monoxide feature is the clearest they've seen. Clouds are long hypothesized clouds of silicate particles in a thick layer with a submicron grain size. The team believes these are minerals such as forsterite or enstatite.
It seems that young brown dwarfs can be circled by clouds that affect their brightness.
The researchers say that this gives them a tool for interpreting future observations of brown dwarfs.
They say that the initial results from the early release science observations are "groundbreaking and also obtainable for numerous other nearby brown dwarfs that will be observed in future observation cycles."
The observatory will push our understanding of atmospheric physics in planetary-companions, brown dwarfs, and exoplanets for a long time to come.
The research can be found on arXiv.
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