American Museum Of Natural History Archives

This artist concept portrays the brown dwarf W1935, which is located 47 light-years from Earth. Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope found infrared emission from methane coming from W1935. This is an unexpected discovery because the brown dwarf is cold and lacks a host star; therefore, there is no obvious source of energy to heat its upper atmosphere and make the methane glow. The team speculates that the methane emission may be due to processes generating aurorae, shown here in red. CREDIT NASA, ESA, CSA, Leah Hustak (Space Telescope Science Institute)

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release

Methane Emission Observed On A Cold Brown Dwarf

by Keith CowingApril 17, 2024April 17, 2024

Using new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have discovered methane emission on a brown dwarf, an unexpected finding for such a cold and isolated world.

Astrochemistry, Press Release

Study Pinpoints Process That Might Have Led To First Organic Molecules

by Keith CowingSeptember 8, 2020

New research led by the American Museum of Natural History and funded by NASA identifies a process that might have been key in producing the first organic molecules on Earth […]

American Museum Of Natural History

Methane Emission Observed On A Cold Brown Dwarf

Study Pinpoints Process That Might Have Led To First Organic Molecules

Roman Space Telescope: Enabling Images Of Distant Worlds

NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) Cooperative Agreement Notice (NNH26ZDA016C) Final Text And Due Dates

Interstellar Aromatic Infrared Bands: IR Absorption Spectroscopy Of The Lowest Triplet State Of Naphthalene

The Highly Unusual Behavior And Chemical Composition Of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov

Volatile Depletion In Rocky Planets As A Chemical Fingerprint Of Hybrid Accretion