brown dwarf

American  

[braun dwawrf] / ˈbraʊn ˈdwɔrf /

noun

Astronomy.

1. a celestial object smaller than a small star but larger than a giant planet: believed to form as stars do, from collapsing clouds of gas and dust, brown dwarfs are sometimes called failed stars as they are not dense enough to initiate nuclear fusion, leaving them much dimmer and cooler than stars.

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brown dwarf British  

noun

1. a type of celestial body midway in mass between a large planet and a small star

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brown dwarf Scientific  

1. A celestial body with insufficient mass to sustain the nuclear fusion that produces radiant energy in normal stars. It is believed that a brown dwarf is formed with enough mass to start nuclear fusion in its core, but without enough for the fusion to become self-sustaining. Theory suggests that a body with about one percent of the mass of the Sun—or ten times the mass of Jupiter—can generate this initial fusion, but that it needs at least eight percent of the Sun's mass to sustain the fusion. After the fusion ends, the dwarf still glows for a period from radiating heat, with a surface temperature of about 2,500°K (4,532°F) or less.

2. See Note at dwarf star

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Etymology

Origin of brown dwarf

First recorded in 1975–80

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brown dwarf

Rather than orbiting a planet, this unusual object circles a brown dwarf, a celestial body more massive than a planet but not massive enough to become a star.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

With a mass comparable to or greater than Jupiter's, it resembles a planet in size and composition, yet its orbital relationship with the brown dwarf makes it a candidate for an entirely different classification.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

The newly identified object orbits this brown dwarf, creating a remarkable arrangement in which a massive satellite circles an object that itself revolves around a star.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

Material leaving the brown dwarf followed trajectories that carried it directly into the star.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026

I’m like that theoretical brown dwarf star or gas giant planet lurking at the far edges of our solar system, way beyond Pluto.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

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