JWST’s unprecedented sensitivity enables precise spectrophotometric monitoring of substellar worlds, revealing atmospheric variability driven by mechanisms operating across different pressure levels.
Brown Dwarfs
![Maps of average lensing parameters of simulated microlensing events due to different BFFPs over the 2D space log10[s(AU)]−log10[Mtot(M⊕)]. Here, Fi and Fw are fractions of simulated microlensing events due to BFFPs with intermediate and wide caustic topologies, respectively. ρ? shows the source radius projected on the lens plane and normalized to the Einstein radius, Lc is a length scale for caustic curves, ∆c represents the caustic area, τ is a time scale for microlensing events due to BFFPs, and P is the orbital period of binary lenses. -- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/On-the-Detection-of-Binary-Free-Floating-Planets.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
On the Detection of Binary Free-Floating Planets in the Roman Galactic Exoplanet Survey
The recent discovery of 40 binary Jupiter-mass free-floating planets in the Trapezium cluster by the James Webb Space Telescope (Pearson & McCaughrean 2023) has opened new windows and questions in […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Brown Dwarfs, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Venus
Detection of Phosphine In A Brown Dwarf Atmosphere Raises More Questions
Phosphorus is one of six key elements necessary for life on Earth. When combined with hydrogen, phosphorus forms the molecule phosphine (PH3), an explosive, highly toxic gas. Found in the […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
MINDS. Cha Ha 1, A Brown Dwarf With A hydrocarbon-rich Disk
Context. Recent JWST observations have shown that brown dwarfs (BD) are chemically rich, offering valuable insights into giant planet formation.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Ice Giant, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Status Report
(Re)-Defining Planets — the Fundamental Plane of Planets
6000+ exoplanets are now detected using various techniques, with estimates of billions of planets existing in our Galaxy alone.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Multiplicity Of Young Isolated Planetary Mass Objects In Taurus And Upper Scorpius
Free-floating planetary mass objects-worlds that roam interstellar space untethered to a parent star-challenge conventional notions of planetary formation and migration, but also of star and brown dwarf formation.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Press Release
Frigid Exoplanet 14 Herculis c Is In A Strange Orbit
A planetary system described as abnormal, chaotic, and strange by researchers has come into clearer view with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Using Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), researchers have successfully […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Diversity of Cold Worlds: A Near Complete Spectral Energy Distribution for 2MASS J04151954-0935066 using JWST
We present the a near complete spectral energy distribution (SED) for an extrasolar world: the T8 brown dwarf 2MASS~J04151954−0935066. Spanning from optical to mid-infrared (0.7–20.4 micron) wavelengths, the SED for […]
Posted inAriel Mission, Astronomy & Telescopes, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Ten Aligned Orbits: Planet Migration in the Era of JWST and Ariel
Understanding the diverse formation and migration pathways that shape exoplanetary systems requires characterizing both their atmospheric properties and their orbital dynamics.
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Evidence For A Polar Circumbinary Exoplanet Orbiting A Pair Of Eclipsing Brown Dwarfs
One notable example of exoplanet diversity is the population of circumbinary planets, which orbit around both stars of a binary star system.