To identify several of the faintest and coolest of the newly discovered brown dwarfs, UC San Diego's Professor of Physics Adam Burgasser and researchers from the Cool Star Lab used Keck Observatory's sensitive Near-Infrared Echellette Spectrometer, or NIRES, instrument. 'This collection of cool brown dwarfs also allows us to accurately estimate the number of free-floating worlds roaming interstellar space near the Sun. 'These cool worlds offer the opportunity for new insights into the formation and atmospheres of planets beyond the solar system,' said lead author Aaron Meisner from the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab. The new Backyard Worlds discovery bridges a previously empty gap in the range of low-temperature brown dwarfs, identifying a long-sought missing link within the brown dwarf population.

Yet astronomers are still unearthing new residents of the solar neighborhood. The study will be published in the Augissue of the Astrophysical Journal and is available in preprint format on .ĭiscovering and characterizing astronomical objects near the Sun is fundamental to our understanding of our place in, and the history of, the universe. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawaii, the research team found several of these newly discovered worlds are among the very coolest known, with a few approaching the temperature of Earth-cool enough to harbor water clouds.

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