Brown dwarfs are huge, but didn’t quite make it as stars
© ASTRON/Danielle Futselaar
Scientists have discovered a cold, faint ‘super-planet’ that has remained elusive to traditional infrared survey methods. Observations from the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope revealed a brown dwarf, designated BDR J1750+3809 and nicknamed Elegast. Brown dwarfs are sometimes referred to as failed stars or super-planets because they are too small to be considered stars, yet too big to be considered planets.