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Collection:
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NASA Spitzer Space Telescope Collection
Collection
NASA Spitzer Space Telescope Collection
Collection
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Title:
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'Mini-Me' Solar System
Title
'Mini-Me' Solar System
Title
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Description:
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This artist's conception shows the relative size of a hypothetical brown dwarf-planetary system (below) compared to our own solar system.
A brown dwarf is a cool or "failed" star, which lacks the mass to ignite and shine like our Sun. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope set its infrared eyes on an extraordinarily low-mass brown dwarf called OTS 44 and found a swirling disk of planet-building dust. At only 15 times the mass of Jupiter, OTS 44 is the smallest known brown dwarf to host a planet-forming, or protoplanetary, disk.
Astronomers believe that this unusual system will eventually spawn planets. If so, they speculate that OTS 44's disk has enough mass to make one small gas giant and a few Earth-sized rocky planets.
Examples of these possible planets are depicted at the bottom of this picture, circling a low-mass brown dwarf. Above, the bodies of our own solar system have been drawn to the same scale. In each system, the terrestrial planets have been enlarged and the distances between the planets and their parent bodies have been scaled down for easier viewing.
Description
This artist's conception shows the relative size of a hypothetical brown dwarf-planetary system (below) compared to our own solar system.
A brown dwarf is a cool or "failed" star, which lacks the mass to ignite and shine like our Sun. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope set its infrared eyes on an extraordinarily low-mass brown dwarf called OTS 44 and found a swirling disk of planet-building dust. At only 15 times the mass of Jupiter, OTS 44 is the smallest known brown dwarf to host a planet-forming, or protoplanetary, disk.
Astronomers believe that this unusual system will eventually spawn planets. If so, they speculate that OTS 44's disk has enough mass to make one small gas giant and a few Earth-sized rocky planets.
Examples of these possible planets are depicted at the bottom of this picture, circling a low-mass brown dwarf. Above, the bodies of our own solar system have been drawn to the same scale. In each system, the terrestrial planets have been enlarged and the distances between the planets and their parent bodies have been scaled down for easier viewing.
Description
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Press Release:
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Press_Release
Press Release
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Release Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle (SSC)
Release_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle (SSC)
Release Credit
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Journal Article:
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Spitzer Identification of the Least Massive Known Brown Dwarf with a Circumstellar Disk [ http://www.spitzer.…]
Journal_Article
Spitzer Identification of the Least Massive Known Brown Dwarf with a Circumstellar Disk [ http://www.spitzer.…] Journal Article
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Related links:
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Related_links
Related links
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facet_what:
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Spitzer Space Telescope
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Spitzer Space Telescope
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Earth
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Earth
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Jupiter
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Jupiter
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Sun
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Sun
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Gemini
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Gemini
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OTS
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OTS
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facet_where:
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Jupiter
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Jupiter
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
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facet_where:
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Stennis Space Center (SSC)
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Stennis Space Center (SSC)
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Image #:
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ssc2005-06c
Image_#
ssc2005-06c
Image #
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original url:
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original_url
original url
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UID:
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SPD-SPITZ-ssc2005-06 c
UID
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2005-06 c
UID
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