NOIR Lab - Elusive Cloud Forming Chemicals Found On “The Accident”

Astronomers have long predicted that the cloud forming chemical
should be found in the atmospheres of brown dwarfs and gas
giants. Silane had eluded detection until now. In this podcast,
Dr. Aaron Meisner recounts how silane was
discovered in the atmosphere of a brown dwarf nicknamed “The
Accident”. The Accident (WISEA J153429.75-104303.3) was
discovered by citizen scientist Dan Caselden,
who was using an online program he built to find brown dwarfs in
NEOWISE data.


 


Bios: 


Rob Sparks is in the Communications, Education and Engagement
group at NSF’s NOIRLab in Tucson, Arizona.


Aaron Meisner is an astronomer at NSF NOIRLab affiliated with the
Vera C. Rubin Observatory, and also a 2025-2026 Radcliffe Fellow
at Harvard University. He specializes in building astronomical
maps using large data sets at visible and infrared
wavelengths.  These maps are used to search for moving
celestial objects, like new neighbors to the Sun and hypothesized
planets in the far reaches of our own solar system. To this end,
Aaron co-founded the popular Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 citizen
science project and the Backyard Worlds: Cool Neighbors project.


 


Press release:
https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2526/?nocache=true&


https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia24578-an-accidental-discovery/


https://aasnova.org/2021/07/02/observing-the-accident-an-enigmatic-brown-dwarf/


 


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