Webb observations identify smallest known brown dwarfs in IC 348
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope identified brown dwarfs in the IC 348 star-forming region with masses about twice that of Jupiter.
ESA reported that Webb observations of IC 348, about 1,000 light-years away in Perseus, revealed the least massive brown dwarfs identified to date. The team selected candidates using NIRCam images and followed up with NIRSpec spectroscopy.
One of the low-mass objects showed signs of a disc, and the findings challenge current models of how very small star-like objects form.