https://phys.org/news/2025-02-hydrogen-cyanide-acetylene-brown-dwarf.html Phys.org Topics * Week's top * Latest news * Unread news * Subscribe [ ] Science X Account [ ] [ ] [*] Remember me Sign In Click here to sign in with or Forget Password? Not a member? Sign up Learn more * Nanotechnology * Physics * Earth * Astronomy & Space * Chemistry * Biology * Other Sciences * Medical Xpress Medicine * Tech Xplore Technology [INS::INS] * * share this! * 55 * Tweet * Share * Email 1. Home 2. Astronomy & Space 3. Astronomy 1. Home 2. Astronomy & Space 3. Planetary Sciences * * * --------------------------------------------------------------------- February 27, 2025 report The GIST Editors' notes This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: fact-checked preprint trusted source proofread Hydrogen cyanide and acetylene detected in a brown dwarf atmosphere for the first time by Tomasz Nowakowski , Phys.org Hydrogen cyanide and acetylene detected in a brown dwarf atmosphere for the first time The MIRI/MRS spectrum of WISE-0458, and the best-fit model. Credit: arXiv (2025). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2502.13610 Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of astronomers has explored the atmosphere of a nearby brown dwarf binary designated WISE J045853.90+643451.9. As a result, they detected hydrogen cyanide and acetylene in the atmosphere of this binary, marking the first time these two species have been identified in the atmosphere of a brown dwarf. The finding was reported Feb. 19 on the arXiv pre-print server. Brown dwarfs are intermediate objects between planets and stars. Astronomers generally agree that they are substellar objects occupying the mass range between 13 and 80 Jupiter masses. One subclass of brown dwarfs (with effective temperatures between 500 and 1,500 K) is known as T-dwarfs, and represents the coolest and least luminous substellar objects so far detected. Located just 30.1 light years away, WISE J045853.90+643451.9 (or WISE-0458) is a binary composed of two T-dwarfs of spectral type T8.5 and T9, with effective temperatures of 600 and 500 K, respectively. The pair has a semi-major axis of approximately 5.0 AU. Given that the T-dwarfs of WISE-0458 have similar spectral types and temperatures, it is assumed that they have nearly identical atmospheres. A group of astronomers led by Elisabeth C. Matthews of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany, decided to explore the atmosphere of WISE-0458 in detail. For this purpose, they employed the Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) of the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) onboard JWST. "We observed WISE-0458 with JWST/MIRI instrument on November 21, 2022, using the MRS. Observations were collected as part of the European MIRI GTO [guaranteed time observations] consortium," the researchers write in the paper. The observations suggest that the atmosphere of WISE-0458 is cloud-free and molecule-rich. The model used by Matthews' team includes the presence of methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water and ammonia in the atmosphere of WISE-0458--therefore species expected in cold atmospheres. [INS::INS] Furthermore, the observations detected hydrogen cyanide and acetylene in the atmosphere of WISE-0458. The astronomers explained that both species are indicators of disequilibrium chemistry, and likely form together deeper in the brown dwarf atmosphere. This is the first discovery of these two species in any brown dwarf atmosphere. The study also found that each brown dwarf of WISE-0458 has a radius of about 0.81 Jupiter radii and the total mass of the pair is approximately 132 Jupiter masses. The distance to the binary was confirmed to be 30.12 light years. The authors of the paper concluded that their findings demonstrate the power of MRS to characterize cold brown dwarfs. They added that future studies should investigate hydrogen cyanide and acetylene in more detail, and determine whether these species are present in other cold brown dwarfs of similar temperature to WISE-0458. More information: Elisabeth C. Matthews et al, HCN and C[2]H[2] in the atmosphere of a T8.5+T9 brown dwarf binary, arXiv (2025). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2502.13610 Journal information: arXiv (c) 2025 Science X Network Citation: Hydrogen cyanide and acetylene detected in a brown dwarf atmosphere for the first time (2025, February 27) retrieved 28 February 2025 from https://phys.org/news/ 2025-02-hydrogen-cyanide-acetylene-brown-dwarf.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. 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This discovery, made using the James Webb Space Telescope, indicates disequilibrium chemistry in the atmosphere. The binary, located 30.1 light-years away, consists of two T-dwarfs with effective temperatures of 600 K and 500 K. The findings highlight the capability of the Medium Resolution Spectrometer to analyze cold brown dwarfs. This summary was automatically generated using LLM. Full disclaimer Let us know if there is a problem with our content Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form. For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines). 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