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Motion on the sky of the brown dwarf binary system Luhman 16 AB. At a distance of less than 2 pc, it is known as the nearest pair of this type to Earth. (Top:) The entire 4.7ʹ × 4ʹ region surrounding Luhman 16 AB, as monitored by HST. (Bottom:) Zoom-in of the 25ʺ × 7ʺ rectangular region indicated in red in the top panel, showing the complete trajectory in the sky of Luhman 16 A and B during the period of 7.4 years monitored by recent HST observations.
Brown dwarfs are objects with masses that are between those of large planets and small stars. They share many features with gas giant planets, particularly conditions in their atmospheres. Apai et al. analyzed how the infrared brightness of three brown dwarfs changes over time. Several perplexing features can be explained if bands of clouds rotating within their atmospheres generate beat patterns. Such bands are seen in optical images of Jupiter but best match infrared images of Neptune.
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