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What is a Brown Dwarf?

This illustration shows brown dwarfs are more massive than planets but not quite as massive as stars.
PIA23685
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Image Addition Date:

Description

Brown dwarfs are more massive than planets but not quite as massive as stars. Generally speaking, they have between 13 and 80 times the mass of Jupiter. A brown dwarf becomes a star if its core pressure gets high enough to start nuclear fusion.