The volunteers identified the brown dwarf just days after science organizations released a new tool to help engage the public in the hunt for new worlds at the edges of our solar system. Because the tool relies on hunting for dim moving objects, it was able to reveal the brown dwarf beyond the solar system.
In February, several institutions, including the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), launched the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 website to help in the search for the object dubbed “Planet 9.” Although this hypothetical world has not been confirmed, the way the solar system objects move suggests that an additional object — possibly the putative Planet 9 — is exerting a gravitational influence in the solar system. [Brown Dwarfs: Strange Failed Stars of the Universe Explained (Infographic)]
“I was so proud of our volunteers as I saw the data on this new cold world coming in,” Jackie Faherty, a senior scientist at the AMNH, said in a statement. “It was a feel-good moment for science.”
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell with Google Hangouts On-Air is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
