A Freaking Cold Star (Warning Science Content)

NASA announced a new discovery recently.  Apparently they have a satellite that is built for detecting longer wavelength radiation known as WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer).  I believe it mainly detects infrared radiation but am unsure if it can detect longer or shorter wavelengths.  This satellite is able to detect star-like bodies known as brown dwarfs (potential stars that did not have enough mass for fusion to happen, essentially like Jupiter).  The brown dwarfs themselves have been known for a while and the surface temperatures of these tend to be > 700 degrees Fahrenheit.   Astronomers using WISE have detected brown dwarfs with surface temperatures as low as 80 degrees Fahrenheit (we could swim in hydrogen haha)!

That is why I love astronomy, there is just SOOOO much to discover.  Read more about it at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/WISE/news/wise20110823.html