Discovery of a Brown Dwarf Companion to Gliese 570ABC:
A 2MASS T Dwarf Significantly Cooler than Gliese 229B
press release text |
image caption |
photo credit |
individual images
These results were announced to the press
at the 195th American Astronomical Society meeting in Atlanta, GA, on
January 15, 2000.
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IMAGE CAPTION
(a) In the left panel are Two Micron All Sky Survey
(2MASS) images of three objects. These are false-color images generated by
mapping the three near-infrared wavelengths at which 2MASS observes into blue,
green, and red colors. The first 2MASS image (top left) shows a methane brown
dwarf (also called a "T dwarf"). Below that are 2MASS images of Uranus with its
five major moons and Neptune with its largest moon, Triton. Strong methane
absorption causes the T dwarf, Uranus, and Neptune all to appear blue in these
images. (b) In the right panel is an artist's rendition in visible light of the
Gliese 570ABCD system. In the upper right corner of this image are the three
cool stars (one yellow and the other two red) comprising the core of the system.
Below them is shown the cool brown dwarf ("T dwarf") companion, Gliese 570D,
an even cooler object which is depicted here as having a reddish, banded
atmosphere. A dark, hypothetical companion to this brown dwarf is also shown.
PHOTO CREDIT
(Left Panel): 2MASS images courtesy of the University of
Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center. (Right Panel):
Artist's rendition by Dr. Robert Hurt of the Infrared Processing and Analysis
Center.
IMAGES
Press release image with captions, 1411x1102 pixels
Artist's rendition of Gl 570D and hypothetical companion without caption, 1280x960 pixels (image courtesy of Dr. Robert Hurt, Infrared Processing and Analysis
Center)
2MASS False-color image of a T dwarf without caption, 348x336 pixels
2MASS False-color image of Uranus without caption, 323x323 pixels
2MASS False-color image of Neptune without caption, 323x323 pixels