Luhman 16

Luhman 16 ( full name WISE J104915.57 - 531906.1, and WISE 1049-5319 ) is a sun close double system of brown dwarfs in the constellation Vela. The system was discovered in 2013 by Kevin Luhman using data from the Wide - Field Infrared Survey Explorer ( WISE). The two brown dwarfs orbiting at a distance of 3 AU once within 25 years.

Discovery

In early March 2013, the discovery of the system of the American astronomer Kevin Luhman of Pennsylvania State University has been published. The analyzed recordings of satellite WISE dated from January 2010 to January 2011.

Particulars

The system is about 6.5 light-years ( about 2 parsecs ) away from the sun. This makes it the third closest star system to our solar system ( Note: Since it is a system of brown dwarfs in Luhman 16, it is doubtful whether the term " star system " is applicable For more information see article star. ). The fact that the objects were discovered so late, despite their relatively close proximity to our earth, is due to their extremely low apparent brightness, which is very typical of brown dwarfs. Alpha Centauri Also, the us closest star system, located in close proximity to the brown dwarfs. With 3.64 light years to Alpha Centauri is closer to 16 than Luhman in our solar system.

On Luhman 16B could by projecting the account of the rotation of the brown dwarf (Doppler effect) split spectral lines of iron a heterogeneous cloud structure are mapped.