|
Title: Since brown dwarfs cannot ignite hydrogen fusion, how might we hope to spot them Post by: barry on Aug 2, 2013 Since brown dwarfs cannot ignite hydrogen fusion, how might we hope to spot them? What role does deuterium play in this?
Title: Re: Since brown dwarfs cannot ignite hydrogen fusion, how might we hope to spot them Post by: nite_n_day on Aug 2, 2013 In the Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction, they will become hot and luminous enough to give off detectable red light, but not for long, so you should look for them in star forming regions. Also, more massive ones than 12 Jupiters can shine briefly by deuterium fusion, but as the supply of deuterium is very limited, that process too will not last long.
Title: Re: Since brown dwarfs cannot ignite hydrogen fusion, how might we hope to spot them Post by: barry on Aug 3, 2013 Content hidden
|