Not a planet, not a star, so what is it really?
Small and dim, these in-between objects have mysterious origins but may be common in the galaxy
In-between objects have mysterious origins but may be common
Canadian astronomers have discovered the youngest and brightest example of a class of puzzling objects that are small for stars and large for planets. In the past few years, several of these objects have been found floating freely in interstellar space, but as they are small and dim, understanding them has been difficult.
This new discovery by Kendra Kellogg, a PhD candidate in the Centre for Planetary and Space Exploration of the Department of Physics & Astronomy at Western University in London, Ontario, and her colleagues, is relatively bright and close - part of a star group that is only 10 million years old.
They hope that, by observing it closely, they may learn whether it is a cast-off giant planet, or a sub-brown dwarf star, and perhaps they may learn more about how common these in-between objects are in the galaxy.
Related Links
- Paper in Astrophysical Journal Letters
- Western University release
- Cosmos Magazine story
- Astronomy Magazine story