Brown dwarf

A massive ring system has been discovered orbiting eclipsing a distant star (Image: University of Rochester)

Space

Astronomers find vast ring system eclipsing a distant star

Astronomers from the Leiden Observatory, Netherlands, and the University of Rochester, New York, have discovered a massive ring system obscuring the light of the young star J1407b.

WISE J085510.83-071442.5.0 is the coldest brown dwarf yet found (Image: NASA)

Space

NASA's Spitzer and WISE telescopes find star colder than the North Pole

Astronomers using NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered a dim star-like “brown dwarf” about 7.2 light years from Earth that's colder than the North Pole.

Space

Astronomers find exoplanet floating through interstellar space

PSO J318.5-22 is an exoplanet discovered this year by astronomers at the University of Hawaii that is floating through interstellar space without a parent star and is one of the smallest free-floating objects seen outside of the Solar System.

Artist's conception of WISE J1049-5319, with the brightly shining Sun 6.5 light years away in the background (Photo: Pennsylvania State University/Janella Williams)

Science

Binary star system found right under our noses

A binary stellar system consisting of a pair of brown dwarf stars has been discovered at a distance of only 6.5 light years, making these the fourth and fifth closest stars to the Sun.