Astronomers using the NASA / ESA / CSA James Webb space telescope have found evidence of the energy deposit in the upper dwarf atmosphere simple J013656.5 + 093347.3 by a dawn.
The impression of an artist from Aurora on the Brown Dwarf Simp-0136. Image credit: Evert Nasedkin.
Simple J013656.5 + 093347.3 (Simp-0136 for short) is a low-mass brown dwarf located only 6.12 parsecs (20 light years) far from the earth in the constellation of fish.
As a member of the Carina-Near Stellar Association, the object is estimated at 200 million years.
The mass of Simp-0136 was estimated at 12.7 to 17.8 Masses Jupiter.
With a spectral type of T2.5 and a temperature of approximately 1,100 K, it shares many atmospheric properties similar to directly imagined exoplanets, such as HR 8799B or AF LEP B.
“Our observations illuminated the strong auroral activity of Simp-0136, similar to the North Lights here on Earth or the Powerful Aurora on Jupiter, who heat its upper atmosphere,” said Dr. Evert Nasedkin, astronomer of Trinity College Dublin.
“These are some of the most precise measures of the atmosphere of any extra-finishing object to date, and the first time that changes in atmospheric properties have been directly measured.”
“And to more than 1,500 degrees Celsius, Simp-0136 makes the heat wave of this soft summer.”
“The specific observations that we made indicated that we could accurately record the temperature changes below 5 degrees Celsius.”
“These temperature changes were linked to subtle changes in the chemical composition of this floating planet, which suggests storms – similar to the large red spot of Jupiter – turning in sight.”
Another surprise discovery was the lack of cloud variability on Simp-0136.
We could expect the changes in the cover of the clouds to cause changes in the atmosphere, similar to the observation of clouds of clouds and blue sky here on earth.
Instead, astronomers found that the cover of the clouds was constant on the surface of Simp-0136.
At the temperatures of Simp-0136, these clouds are different from those on earth, rather composed of silicate grains, similar to the sand on a beach.
“Different light wavelengths are linked to different atmospheric characteristics,” said Dr. Nasedkin.
“Similar to the observation of color changes on the surface of the earth, changes in the color of Simp-0136 are driven by changes in atmospheric properties.”
“Thus, using peak models, we could deduce the temperature of the atmosphere, the chemical composition and the position of the clouds.”
“This work is exciting because it shows that by applying our cutting-edge modeling techniques to webb cutting-edge data sets, we can start to reconstruct the processes that stimulate weather in the worlds beyond our solar system,” said Trinity College Dublin professor, Johanna Vos.
“Understanding these meteorological processes will be crucial while we continue to discover and characterize exoplanets in the future.”
“Although for the moment, these types of spectroscopic variability observations are limited to isolated brown dwarfs, like this, future observations with the extremely large telescope and possibly the observatory of habitable worlds will allow the study of the atmospheric dynamics of exoplanets, giants of Jupiter type gas with rocky worlds.”
The results of the team appear in the newspaper Astronomy and astrophysics.
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E. Nasedkin and al. 2025. The JWST meteorological ratio: Recovery of temperature variations, dawn heating and static cloud cover on Simp-0136. A&A 702, A1; Two: 10.1051 / 0004-6361 / 202555370
