SPHEREx Finds Molecules in Brown Dwarf Atmospheres

SPHEREx analyzed 37 nearby brown dwarfs from orbit and found chemically rich atmospheres. The results were published in The Astrophysical Journal.

SPHEREx is an infrared space telescope observing from orbit. Its launch date is 2025-03, and it is associated with JPL.

The telescope observes in deep red and infrared wavelengths, records 102 colors, and produces 3600 unique images per day.

The observations analyzed 37 nearby brown dwarfs. The work is described as a side project aimed at finding brown dwarfs.

The spectra indicated chemically rich atmospheres containing water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane.

The findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Brown dwarfs are not hefty enough to sustain hydrogen fusion. They can drift without a host star and are heated entirely from within.

Their temperatures are given as 4,000 to minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit, and their absorption patterns shift as they grow older and colder.

A few dozen brown dwarfs have been studied in detail with space-based telescopes, and a SPHEREx milestone is first-time imaging of thousands of brown dwarfs.

For readers tracking the lunar industry, the result shows an orbiting infrared telescope can detect molecules on cold objects. The detected molecules include water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane.

SPHEREx’s payload is described as chemical ingredients of life and interstellar ice, and the mission has a milestone involving first-time imaging of thousands of brown dwarfs.