Home > Astrophysics > Luminosity, Effective Temperature, Flux and Magnitudes

With no nuclear reaction occurring, are brown dwarfs visually observable?

Answer 1

Brown dwarfs do glow with visible light, but they are not very luminous and emit mostly in infrared wavelengths. They are more likely to be reddish than brown.

Gravitational compression and the fusion of lithium and deuterium, which requires lower core temperatures than regular hydrogen fusion, are the two processes that heat brown dwarfs to temperatures at which they are visible to us (dimly).

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer 2

Declan Carroll

Yes, because brown dwarfs release infrared radiation as a result of residual heat from their formation process, they can be seen with the naked eye even in the absence of nuclear reactions.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.