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Some stars have planets. Others are orbited by brown dwarfs, balls of gas too massive to be planets, but too low-mass to be stars. Astronomers love these brown dwarf-star pairs because being paired with a star helps reveal a brown dwarf\u2019s age. Ages of astronomical objects are often hard to measure, but essential for understanding how they form.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, you can join NASA\u2019s new Backyard Worlds: Binaries<\/a> project and help astronomers discover these rare and interesting pairs. As a volunteer, you’ll inspect images from NASA\u2019s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope. Brown dwarfs may appear as small dots moving across a field of otherwise static stars.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We need your help to gain critical insights into these enigmatic cosmic objects,\u201d said project lead Aaron Meisner.<\/p>\n Brown dwarfs are common but mysterious because they are so faint. There\u2019s one for every three or four stars in our corner of the Milky Way galaxy. They are important laboratories for understanding giant planets like Jupiter.<\/p>\n Join the Backyard Worlds: Binaries<\/a> project today and help astronomers understand where and when brown dwarfs form! You can also try one of our other brown dwarf-related projects: Backyard Worlds: Cool Neighbors<\/a>! Anyone with a laptop or cell phone can participate. Participation does not require citizenship in any particular country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n