2MASS J09393548−2448279

Discovery

2MASS 0939−2448 was identified as a brown dwarf through analysis of data from the 2MASS survey by Tinney et al. The discovery was published in 2005.

Properties

Model calculations suggest that 2MASS 0939−2448 is a system of two brown dwarfs with effective temperatures of about 500 and 700 K and masses of about 25 and 40 Jupiter masses; it is also possible that it is a pair of identical objects with temperatures of 600 K and 30 Jupiter masses.

In 2025 it was discovered that the brown dwarf is variable in the J-band with Gemini South. It showed an amplitude of and a rotation period of . This period cloud however be part of a larger rotation period. The variability at 1.2 μm is likely connected to high-altitude clouds, made of chemicals such as Na2S or KCl, as well as a haze layer. Additionally the variability could be due to hot spots caused by aurorae. The fast rotating T-dwarfs were connected to radio emission, connected to aurorae, so the researchers suggest follow-up observations with radio telescopes. The same work detected variability for the T8-dwarf EQ J1959-3338. The work also suggests that the spin increases with age for brown dwarfs.

Dimmest known brown dwarf

From publication of the discovery in 2005 till at least 2008, 2MASS 0939−2448, or its dimmer component, was the dimmest brown dwarf known. Later dimmer objects, including (sub)brown dwarfs and rogue planets of new spectral class Y, were discovered, using data from WISE and from other surveys. In 2011–2014, the dimmest known of these objects was WISE 1828+2650, and from 2014 the dimmest one is WISE 0855−0714.

References

References

1. (2016). "Uniform Atmospheric Retrieval Analysis of Ultracool Dwarfs. II. Properties of 11 T dwarfs". The Astrophysical Journal.
2. (2015). "Fundamental Parameters and Spectral Energy Distributions of Young and Field Age Objects with Masses Spanning the Stellar to Planetary Regime". The Astrophysical Journal.
3. (2008-12-10). "Astronomers Find the Two Dimmest Stellar Bulbs". [[NASA]]/[[JPL]].
4. {{cite constellation. 2MASS J09393548-2448279
5. (2003). "VizieR Online Data Catalog: 2MASS All-Sky Catalog of Point Sources (Cutri+ 2003)". Vizier Online Data Catalog.
6. Tinney, C. G.. (2005). "The 2MASS Wide-Field T Dwarf Search. IV. Hunting Out T Dwarfs with Methane Imaging". [[The Astronomical Journal]].
7. (2008). "2MASS J09393548-2448279: The Coldest and Least Luminous Brown Dwarf Binary Known?". [[The Astrophysical Journal]].
8. (2009). "The Physical Properties of Four ~600 K T Dwarfs". [[The Astrophysical Journal]].
9. (2025). "Detection of $J$-band photometric periodicity in the T8 dwarfs 2MASS J09393548-2448279 and EQ J1959-3338". Astronomy and Astrophysics.