Newfound star is cooler than lighter flame

The newly discovered brown dwarf star is the brightest known star in the universe. A commercial lighter is hotter than its surface temperature.

Sydney, Australia). The surface temperature of most stars ranges between 1,700 and 20,000 degrees Celsius. The Sun has a temperature of about 5725 degrees Celsius. According to a publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters They discovered the coolest star yet that emits radio waves. The brown dwarf star WISE J062309.94-045624.6 has a temperature of only 420 degrees Celsius. Therefore it is cooler than a standard lighter flame.

“In some cases, the stars are cooler than the smoke from a campfire—I mean, that’s inspiring. It’s inspiring and humbling to understand our place in the universe.”

Observations with radio telescopes

Brown dwarfs are composed primarily of hydrogen gas, and likely have zigzag band patterns in the clouds. Unlike the sun, it lacks internal energy sources, which means it emits hardly any visible light. Therefore, they are practically invisible to the human eye.

So the scientists used the ASKAP, MeerKAT and Australia Telescope Compact Array radio telescopes for their observations to detect radio waves emitted by the stars’ electromagnetic fields. In their study, they found that the star’s mass is 44 times the mass of Jupiter at most, and it emits radio emissions that vary in intensity during a cycle of about 1.9 hours.

radio waves through a strong magnetic field?

In astronomy, brown dwarfs, which are much smaller than other stars, are often referred to as “failed stars.” Because of its small size, even smaller than Jupiter, it lacks sufficient gravitational force to trigger nuclear fusion. The researchers therefore hypothesize that the emission of radio emissions from the brown dwarf star WISE J062309.94−045624.6 indicates the presence of a magnetic field, which is a unique phenomenon.

Scientists assume that the brown dwarf completes a complete revolution on its axis during the observed cycle of 1.9 hours. This rapid rotation results in the generation of a magnetic field and the consequent emission of radio rays by the star.

Astrophysical Journal Letters, doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ace188