Astronomers discover 1st-ever brown dwarf binary pair in our galaxy
Astronomers just found a super-rare quadruple star system in our galaxy, made up of two brown dwarfs and two red dwarf stars.
The discovery, detailed in the September issue of Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, was led by Professor Zenghua Zhang and an international team.
This is the first time scientists have spotted two T-type brown dwarfs orbiting together with a pair of red dwarfs—something never seen before.
Brown dwarfs are sometimes called 'failed stars'
Brown dwarfs are sometimes called "failed stars" because they're too small to shine like regular stars, making them tough to spot.
In this new system, the brighter red dwarfs make it possible for scientists to study their faint brown dwarf neighbors more closely.
This unique setup could help us understand how these mysterious objects form and what they're really made of.