GeminiFocus 2016 Year in Review | Page 9

Gemini North ’ s unique spectroscopic capabilities at 5 microns combined with queue scheduling delivered challenging deep spectra of a nearby , very cool brown dwarf . The results provide a strong analog of a Jupiter-mass planet and the coolest known compact object outside of our Solar System .
Andy Skemer
October 2016

A Gemini Spectrum of a World Colder than a Night on Maunakea

Gemini North ’ s unique spectroscopic capabilities at 5 microns combined with queue scheduling delivered challenging deep spectra of a nearby , very cool brown dwarf . The results provide a strong analog of a Jupiter-mass planet and the coolest known compact object outside of our Solar System .
For more than 50 years , scientists have observed our Solar System ’ s gas giant planets in the infrared . At these wavelengths , it is possible to measure their intrinsic luminosities , chemical abundances , and thermal profiles . We now live in an age where thousands of planets have been discovered orbiting other stars . For a handful of these worlds , we are beginning to study their individual properties in a way that emulates Solar System studies from 50 years ago .
Figure 1 . Left : VLT image of Jupiter at 5 microns Image credit : Leigh Fletcher Right : Gemini spectrum of WISE 0855 at 5 microns ( the faint white vertical line ).
January 2017 | 2016 Year in Review GeminiFocus
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