Brown dwarfs (the smallest stars) |
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A brown dwarf is a failed star; too small for the core to
reach the temperature necessary to begin the fusion reaction
of hydrogen isotopes to helium; the reaction responsible for
the power source of A tiny brown dwarf star (some say it could be claimed as a Planet) 2M1207b, ~ five times the size of Jupiter, has been photographed at a distance of 200 light years (April 2005). The image is a gradual step towards eventually photographing smaller rocky planets orbiting the closer stars. That may be possible with the next generation of telescopes. 2M1207b orbits a parent star that is itself a brown dwarf; The diagram is an artists impression of the primary brown dwarf star and its even smaller companion. The images obtained so far are single pixels! |
normal
stars. Brown dwarfs are too small (cool) for normal nuclear fusion
to Helium but hot enough to fuse Deuterium.