DEN 0255-4700
Encyclopedia
DENIS 0255-4700 is an extremely faint brown dwarf
about 16 light years from the Solar System
in the southern constellation
of Eridanus
. It is the closest spectral class L brown dwarf to the Earth. Its proximity to the Solar System was discovered by the RECONS group in 2006.
Brown dwarf
Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth...
about 16 light years from the Solar System
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
in the southern constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
of Eridanus
Eridanus (constellation)
Eridanus is a constellation. It is represented as a river; its name is the Ancient Greek name for the Po River. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations. It is the sixth largest of the modern...
. It is the closest spectral class L brown dwarf to the Earth. Its proximity to the Solar System was discovered by the RECONS group in 2006.