For the first time, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) may have discovered brown dwarfs, known as “failed stars,” outside our Milky Way. This finding offers a new view of star formation and the conditions of the early universe. Brown dwarfs are unusual. They are larger than planets but smaller than stars. These objects form in a way comparable to stars, accumulating gas and dust, but they lack the mass necessary to initiate nuclear fusion. This leaves them dark, cold and star-like, but without the light and energy of true stars. Typically, brown dwarfs weigh between 13 and 75 times the mass of Jupiter, making them larger than most planets but less powerful than stars.
A closer look at NGC 602
Using its near-infrared camera, JWST focused on a young star cluster, NGC 602, located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), one of our galaxy's closest neighbors. Within this star cluster, researchers have identified around 64 objects that can be classified as brown dwarfs. Each has a mass between 50 and 84 times that of Jupiter. This places brown dwarfs for the first time within a star cluster beyond our Milky Way. Creates a significant breakthrough for astronomers.
Why is this discovery important?
This cluster, NGC 602, has a composition comparable to that of the early universe. It contains fewer heavier elements than hydrogen and helium, reflecting the conditions before later stars enriched the cosmos with heavier elements. Studying these metal-poor brown dwarfs could reveal why certain stars fail to light up, adding another layer to our understanding of cosmic evolution. This discovery could also explain why brown dwarfs are so common in the galaxy, potentially outnumbering the stars themselves.
Discovering the secrets of star formation
NGC 602 offers a unique opportunity to explore star formation under conditions similar to those in the early days of the universe. This breakthrough could bring us closer to understanding how stars and planets took shape in the harsh early universe.
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