Webb Confirms Shifting Water Clouds on Brown Dwarf WISE 0855

The James Webb Space Telescope observed WISE 0855, the coldest known brown dwarf 7.5 light-years away, for 11 hours, capturing a spectrum every 15 minutes. The data show water clouds thickening and thinning while deep gases rise from the interior.

• WISE 0855 lies 7.5 light-years away and is the coldest known brown dwarf
• Observations lasted 11 hours with spectra taken every 15 minutes
• The object is about 265 K and roughly twice Jupiter's mass
• First direct confirmation of water clouds changing thickness on another world