by AVAO » Tue Oct 29, 2024 6:48 am
https://www.universetoday.com/168993/th ... -milky-way
The Webb Discovers a Rich Population of Brown Dwarfs Outside the Milky Way
This stunning image of a star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is more than just a pretty picture. It’s part of a scientific effort to understand star formation in an environment different from ours. The young star cluster is called NGC 602, and it’s very young, only about 2 or 3 million years old. "
"The researchers found 64 brown dwarf
candidates in the cluster. They ranged from 0.05 to 0.08 solar masses (50-84 Jupiter masses) and are co-located with main sequence stars. The low stellar density in the cluster helped the JWST resolve individual objects."
"The data from this work shows that the low-mass objects in NGC 602 are well below the characteristic mass. The brown dwarfs have masses between 0.048 and 0.08 solar masses or 50 and 84 Jupiter masses. Since these brown dwarfs are co-located with the cluster’s young pre-Main Sequence Stars, it suggests they formed synchronously. This indicates that the stellar mass function continues into the substellar mass regime."
This first study is just their first step, and they intend on digging deeper. “The accurate selection of ages, together with the superb sensitivity and calibration of JWST, will allow us, in a forthcoming paper, to reliably study the substellar mass function, well below the turnover of the IMF,” the authors write.It’s all aimed at understanding how brown dwarfs form. If they can study the sub-stellar IMF in detail, they can determine whether it’s a continuation of the stellar IMF. Then, the researchers can answer an important unanswered question: do these objects form from the fragmentation and collapse of giant molecular clouds like stars do? Or do they form from the fragmentation of circumstellar disks like planets do?
As of now, they have only a partial answer. “From this work, the colocation with the PMS suggests that the formation channel of the cBDs is the same as the one for their more massive stellar counterparts, as expected from solar neighbourhood studies: the fragmentation and collapse of the GMC,” the authors conclude.
bigger:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/541 ... 7132_o.jpg
[quote="APOD Robot" post_id=342002 time=1730174883 user_id=128559]
[url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241029.html] [img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_241029.jpg[/img] [size=150]NGC 602: Stars Versus Pillars from Webb[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] The stars are destroying the pillars. More specifically, some of the newly formed [url=https://science.nasa.gov/universe/stars/types/]stars[/url] in the image center are emitting light so energetic that is [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231206.html]evaporating[/url] the gas and dust in the surrounding [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201206.html]pillars[/url]. Simultaneously, the [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230110.html]pillar[/url]s themselves are still trying to [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_formation]form new stars[/url]. The whole setting is the star cluster [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_602]NGC 602[/url], and this new vista was taken by the [url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/]Webb Space Telescope[/url] in multiple [url=https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves/]infrared[/url] colors. In comparison, a roll-over image shows the same star cluster in [url=https://science.nasa.gov/ems/09_visiblelight/]visible light[/url], taken previously by the [url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/]Hubble Space Telescope[/url]. NGC 602 is located near the perimeter of the [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Magellanic_Cloud]Small Magellanic Cloud[/url] (SMC), a small satellite galaxy of our Milky Way galaxy. At the estimated distance of the SMC, the [url=https://esawebb.org/images/weic2425c/]featured picture[/url] spans about 200 light-years. A [url=https://cdn.animalchannel.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/06062531/concerned_dog_featured-1.png]tantalizing[/url] assortment of [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210802.html]background galaxies[/url] are also visible -- mostly around the edges -- that are at least hundreds of millions of [url=https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/]light-year[/url]s beyond.
[table][tr][td=left][url=https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=241028][b]<< Previous APOD[/b][/url][/td] [td=center][url=https://asterisk.apod.com/view_retro.php?date=1029][b]This Day in APOD[/b][/url][/td] [td=right][url=https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=241030][b]Next APOD >>[/b][/url][/td][/tr][/table]
[/quote]
[b][url]https://www.universetoday.com/168993/the-webb-discovers-a-rich-population-of-brown-dwarfs-outside-the-milky-way[/url][/b]
[b]The Webb Discovers a Rich Population of Brown Dwarfs Outside the Milky Way[/b]
This stunning image of a star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is more than just a pretty picture. It’s part of a scientific effort to understand star formation in an environment different from ours. The young star cluster is called NGC 602, and it’s very young, only about 2 or 3 million years old. "
"The researchers found 64 brown dwarf [i]candidates[/i] in the cluster. They ranged from 0.05 to 0.08 solar masses (50-84 Jupiter masses) and are co-located with main sequence stars. The low stellar density in the cluster helped the JWST resolve individual objects."
"The data from this work shows that the low-mass objects in NGC 602 are well below the characteristic mass. The brown dwarfs have masses between 0.048 and 0.08 solar masses or 50 and 84 Jupiter masses. Since these brown dwarfs are co-located with the cluster’s young pre-Main Sequence Stars, it suggests they formed synchronously. This indicates that the stellar mass function continues into the substellar mass regime."
This first study is just their first step, and they intend on digging deeper. “The accurate selection of ages, together with the superb sensitivity and calibration of JWST, will allow us, in a forthcoming paper, to reliably study the substellar mass function, well below the turnover of the IMF,” the authors write.It’s all aimed at understanding how brown dwarfs form. If they can study the sub-stellar IMF in detail, they can determine whether it’s a continuation of the stellar IMF. Then, the researchers can answer an important unanswered question: do these objects form from the fragmentation and collapse of giant molecular clouds like stars do? Or do they form from the fragmentation of circumstellar disks like planets do?
As of now, they have only a partial answer. “From this work, the colocation with the PMS suggests that the formation channel of the cBDs is the same as the one for their more massive stellar counterparts, as expected from solar neighbourhood studies: the fragmentation and collapse of the GMC,” the authors conclude.
[imghover="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54100826137_cdd95162f2_b.jpg"]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54101940718_ea921712d7_b.jpg[/imghover]
bigger: [url]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54101940718_769b067132_o.jpg[/url]