BROWN DWARFS: THE BRIDGE BETWEEN STARS AND PLANETS IN STELLAR AND PLANETARY SCIENCE

Abstract

Brown dwarfs are astronomical or substellar objects that fail to become stars due to insufficient mass to sustain hydrogen fusion. First discovered in the late 1990s, brown dwarfs were initially categorized as self-luminous objects. Although they do not fit the criteria for either stars or planets and are sometimes referred to as "failed stars," brown dwarfs play a significant role in astronomy. They are found to be alike in stars due to their emission of light, hosting of planets, and formation process, along with their fundamental foundations. Additionally, brown dwarfs resemble gas giant planets like Jupiter, lacking nuclear fusion in their cores and having atmospheric phenomena and weather patterns. Due to these shared properties, brown dwarfs serve as important intermediate astronomical objects, offering insights into both stellar and planetary science.