Clouds of water spotted on Jupiter-like brown dwarf
For the first time ever, a team of astronomers believe they have discovered the first sign of clouds of water outside of our solar system, according to a study.
The water clouds were discovered on the frigid brown dwarf WISE 0855, which is 7.2 light-years away from Earth. The object is similar to gas giants in our own solar system, according to the findings published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
“We would expect an object that cold to have water clouds, and this is the best evidence that it does," Andrew Skemer, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at The University of California Santa Cruz, and author of the study, said in a statement.
The “failed star,” which was first spotted by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) in 2014, is too cold and faint to use typical methods used to study brown dwarfs, according to the statement.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2016/07/11/clouds-water-spotted-jupiter-like-brown-dwarf/86936534/
