875: #ClassicKenCroswell: Our neighbors the Twin Brown Dwarfs. Ken Croswell @PhysicsWorld
Photo: No known restrictions on publication.Maximilian Hell http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/contact http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/schedules Parler & Twitter: @BatchelorShow #ClassicKenCroswell: Our neighbors the Twin Brown Dwarfs. Ken Croswell @PhysicsWorld http://www.physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2014/jan/29/nearby-brown-dwarf-has-partly-cloudy-skies . (http://www.physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2014/jan/29/nearby-brown-dwarf-has-partly-cloudy-skies%20.) Cooler than the Sun Brown dwarfs are much cooler than the Sun and therefore shine most profusely at infrared wavelengths. On 10 February 2013 Kevin Luhman of Pennsylvania State University was examining images from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft when he discovered the nearest brown dwarf to Earth. It is so close that only two star systems are nearer: the triple-star Alpha Centauri, which is 4.4 light-years away; and Barnard’s Star, which is 6.0 light-years distant. Luhman then found that our new neighbour – named “Luhman 16” – is actually a couple: two brown dwarfs orbiting each other.