The object was spotted by an infrared NASA telescope

Oct 20, 2011 07:39 GMT  ·  By

Astronomers operating the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope announce the discovery of the coldest known brown dwarf companion. The failed star can compare in temperature to other, similar cosmic bodies, which are floating freely through space, unbound to other objects.

Known as WD 0806-661, the new cosmic body is in fact a failed star. Brown dwarfs are produced through the same mechanisms as regular stars, except that the molecular clouds in which they originate are not large enough to allow for a proper fusion reaction to begin.

As such, the resulting objects are significantly cooler than a star, yet hotter than gas giants. “We have discovered a new record holder for the coldest companion imaged outside of the solar system that is nearly as cold as Earth,” Pennsylvania State University astronomer Kevin Luhman says.

“We believe the object is a brown dwarf, but it could be a gas giant planet as well,” adds the expert, who is also the lead author of a new paper detailing the findings. The work will appear in an upcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal.