Astronomers Find First Evidence of Water Ice Clouds Outside Our Own Solar System
For the first time, evidence of water ice clouds has been found outside our own solar system. A team of astronomers at the Carnegie Institution led by Jacqueline Faherty took 151 photographs of the brown dwarf designated WISE J085510.83-071442.5 over three nights, and when that data was compared to predicted models of the atmospheres of brown dwarfs it was discovered that the atmosphere of WISE J085510.83-071442.5 has clouds of frozen water and sulfide.
The Carnegie Institution visualizes and summarizes the discovery and shows the significance of water ice clouds in the atmospheres of planets and brown dwarfs.
