Y Dwarfs

[Wanderlust]

Scientists digging through the WISE telescope's wealth of data have turned up a few more brown dwarfs. These specific objects are significant because Y type brown dwarfs are the coolest classification of brown dwarf in a spectrum that runs from Y to L. The Y dwarf discovered, WISE 1828+2650, is approximately 9 lightyears from Earth in the constellation Lyra.

WISE has already completed its mission and is now inactive, however it collected so much data during the year and a half of observing it will take years for scientists to go through it all. Eventually we hope it may turn up some objects that are right near our star system, mabe even closer that Alpha Centauri.

Article: http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=19591

Image:

: NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has uncovered the coldest brown dwarf known so far (green dot in very center of this infrared image). Called WISE 1828+2650, this chilly star-like body isn’t even as warm as a human body, at less than about 80 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius). Like other brown dwarfs, it began life like a star, collapsing under its own weight into a dense ball of gas. But, unlike a star, it didn’t have enough mass to fuse atoms at its core, and shine steadily with starlight. Instead, it has continued to cool and fade since its birth, and now gives off only a feeble amount of infrared light. WISE’s highly sensitive infrared detectors were able to catch the glow of this object during its all-sky scan, which lasted from Jan. 2010 to Feb. 2011. WISE 1828+2650 is located in the constellation Lyra. The blue dots are a mix of stars and galaxies. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA.

 

[scotthm]

Eventually we hope it may turn up some objects that are right near our star system

I hope there are no such objects anywhere near our solar system. I can't imagine that a close encounter with one would be beneficial.

I am glad a survey was made, I just hope these brown dwarves aren't too plentiful in our neighborhood.

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[Quantum_Penguin]

I'm actually excited by the possibility, so long as they are in stable orbits or won't pass through the inner solar system. The thing I'd most want to now would be what planets may have formed from its birth nebula and how similar or different they are from ours. It also would give us a much closer target than Alpha Centauri for an interstellar mission. We could see it as a dress rehearsal for Centauri or a potential target for colonization depending on what resources are there in situ.

 

[Lindley]

a potential target for colonization depending on what resources are there in situ.

I'm finding it difficult to imagine why a brown dwarf system---if indeed any planets were present---would make a better colonization target than something right here in our own system. Or a generation ship ignoring systems altogether.

 

[Wanderlust]

a potential target for colonization depending on what resources are there in situ.

I'm finding it difficult to imagine why a brown dwarf system---if indeed any planets were present---would make a better colonization target than something right here in our own system. Or a generation ship ignoring systems altogether.

Raw Resources, if you are an interstellar nomad these systems would be quite useful. If anything they would be nice gravitational assists.