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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
GL 229B: An Elusive Brown Dwarf?
Explanation: What type of matter makes up most of the universe? This question is arguably the most perplexing astronomical mystery of our time. A leading candidate is a type of dim, low mass star called a “ brown dwarf ” star. Our universe could contain more brown dwarfs than any other type of star - but they are so dim they have so far escaped detection. The dramatic photograph above , taken in October 1994, sheds new light on this “ dark matter ” problem. The seemingly inconspicuous companion to the right of the overexposed image of a normal star is thought to be an elusive brown dwarf . Now that the existence of brown dwarfs has been demonstrated, a key remaining question is their abundance.
| Date | December 4, 1995 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: 60-inch Telescope, Palomar Observatory, T. Nakajima (Caltech), S. Durrance (JHU) |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |