Context
Researchers found a brown dwarf discovered 30 years ago is actually twins circling each other
About Brown Dwarfs
- Larger than a planet, but smaller than a star. Size range lies between Jupiter and a small star.
- Formation: Accumulate material like stars, not like planets.
- Atmosphere: Have hot clouds made of silicate particles, unlike Earth’s water clouds.
- Element Retention: Retain hydrogen and helium more effectively than planets; have low metal content.
- Energy Production: Do not have enough mass to sustain nuclear fusion of hydrogen, thus referred to as “failed stars.”
- Fusion Process: Produce energy by deuterium fusion in the first few million years, unlike stars which sustain hydrogen fusion.
About Dwarf Planets:
- Smaller than planets, but orbits the Sun. Lacks the gravitational dominance to clear its orbital path of other debris.
- Recognized Dwarf Planets: include Pluto, Eris, Haumea, Makemake, and Ceres.
- Orbital Characteristics: Unlike regular planets, dwarf planets share their orbital space with other objects like asteroids.
- Shape: Dwarf planets have enough gravity to be spherical but lack the mass to maintain clear, independent orbits.
- Kuiper Belt Objects: Many dwarf planets, like Pluto, are located in the Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune.
Source: IE
Previous Year Question
The terms ‘Event Horizon’, ‘Singularity’, ‘String Theory’ and ‘Standard Model’ are sometimes seen in the news in the context of
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2017 Prelims]
(a) Observation and understanding of the Universe
(b) Study of the solar and the lunar eclipses
(c) Placing satellites in the orbit of the Earth
(d) Origin and evolution of living organisms on the Earth
Answer: (a)