Editing Brown dwarf (section)

=== Recent developments ===
[[File:Brown dwarfs in the Sun’s neighborhood.jpg|thumb|A visualization representing a three-dimensional map of brown dwarfs (red dots) that have been discovered within 65 light-years of the Sun<ref>{{cite news |last1=Meisner |first1=Aaron |last2=Kocz |first2=Amanda |title=Mapping Our Sun's Backyard |publisher=NOIRLab |url=https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2105/ |access-date=1 February 2021}}</ref>]]
Estimates of brown dwarf populations in the solar neighbourhood suggest that there may be as many as six stars for every brown dwarf.<ref name="space2012">{{cite web |last=O'Neill |first=Ian |date=12 June 2012 |title=Brown Dwarfs, Runts of Stellar Litter, Rarer than Thought |url=http://www.space.com/16112-brown-dwarf-stars-sun-rare.html |access-date=2012-12-28 |publisher=Space.com}}</ref> A more recent estimate from 2017 using the young massive star cluster [[RCW 38]] concluded that the Milky Way galaxy contains between 25 and 100 billion brown dwarfs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muzic |first1=Koraljka |last2=Schoedel |first2=Rainer |last3=Scholz |first3=Alexander |last4=Geers |first4=Vincent C. |last5=Jayawardhana |first5=Ray |last6=Ascenso |first6=Joana |last7=Cieza |first7=Lucas A. |date=2017-07-02 |title=The low-mass content of the massive young star cluster RCW 38 |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=471 |issue=3 |pages=3699–3712 |arxiv=1707.00277 |bibcode=2017MNRAS.471.3699M |doi=10.1093/mnras/stx1906 |doi-access=free |issn=0035-8711 |s2cid=54736762}}</ref> (Compare these numbers to the estimates of the number of stars in the Milky Way; 100 to 400 billion.)

In a study published in Aug 2017 [[NASA]]'s [[Spitzer Space Telescope]] monitored infrared brightness variations in brown dwarfs caused by cloud cover of variable thickness. The observations revealed large-scale waves propagating in the atmospheres of brown dwarfs (similarly to the atmosphere of Neptune and other Solar System giant planets). These atmospheric waves modulate the thickness of the clouds and propagate with different velocities (probably due to differential rotation).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Apai |first1=Dániel |last2=Karalidi |first2=T. |last3=Marley |first3=Mark S. |last4=Yang |first4=H. |last5=Flateau |first5=D. |last6=Metchev |first6=S. |last7=Cowan |first7=N. B. |last8=Buenzli |first8=E. |last9=Burgasser |first9=Adam J. |last10=Radigan |first10=J. |last11=Artigau |first11=Étienne |last12=Lowrance |first12=P. |year=2017 |title=Zones, spots, and planetary-scale waves beating in brown dwarf atmospheres |journal=Science |volume=357 |issue=6352 |pages=683–687 |bibcode=2017Sci...357..683A |doi=10.1126/science.aam9848 |pmid=28818943 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In August 2020, astronomers discovered 95 brown dwarfs near the [[Sun]] through the project Backyard Worlds: Planet 9.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gohd |first=Chelsea |date=19 August 2020 |title=Volunteers spot almost 100 cold brown dwarfs near our sun |url=https://www.space.com/citizen-scientists-discover-95-brown-dwarfs.html |website=Space.com}}</ref>

In 2024 the [[James Webb Space Telescope]] provided the most detailed weather report yet on two brown dwarfs, revealing "stormy" conditions. These brown dwarfs, part of a [[binary star]] system named [[Luhman 16]] discovered in 2013, are only 6.5 light-years away from Earth and are the closest brown dwarfs to our sun. Researchers discovered that they have turbulent clouds, likely made of silicate grains, with temperatures ranging from {{Convert|875|°C|°F}} to {{Convert|1026|°C|°F}}. This indicates that hot sand is being blown by winds on the brown dwarfs. Additionally, absorption signatures of carbon monoxide, methane, and water vapor were detected.<ref>[https://www.space.com/brown-dwarf-alien-weather-report-jwst Alien weather report: James Webb Space Telescope detects hot, sandy wind on 2 brown dwarfs; Space.com]</ref>