Detail View: : Birth of an Unusual Planetary System
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Collection:
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NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
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Title:
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Birth of an Unusual Planetary System
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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This artist's animation shows a brown dwarf surrounded by a swirling disc of planet-building dust. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope spotted such a disc around a surprisingly low-mass brown dwarf, or "failed star." The brown dwarf, called OTS 44, is only 15 times the size of Jupiter, making it the smallest brown dwarf known to host a planet-forming, or protoplanetary disc.
Astronomers believe that this unusual system will eventually spawn planets. If so, they speculate that OTS 44's disc has enough mass to make one small gas giant and a few Earth-sized rocky planets.
OTS 44 is about 2 million years old. At this relatively young age, brown dwarfs are warm and appear reddish in color. With age, they grow cooler and darker.
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note:
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Birth of an Unusual Planetary System [ http //photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/animation/PIA07335 ]
Click on graphic to obtain download options
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech
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Produced By:
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California Institute of Technology
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Mission:
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Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)
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Spacecraft:
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Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)
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Target Name:
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OTS 44
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Product Size:
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3000 samples x 2400 lines
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facet_what:
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Jupiter
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facet_what:
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Earth
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facet_what:
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SST
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facet_what:
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Spitzer Space Telescope
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facet_what:
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OTS
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facet_where:
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Jupiter
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facet_where:
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California
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
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Image #:
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PIA07335
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA07335
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orignial url:
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http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07335
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Image ID:
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110511
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Resolution Size:
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5
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Format:
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JP2
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Media Type:
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Image
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File Name:
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PIA07335.jp2
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Width:
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3000
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Height:
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2400
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