astronomy

WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5

WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 rather than just read about it. In short: WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 (abbreviated WISE 0410+1502) is a sub-brown dwarf of spectral class Y0, located in the constellation Taurus. At approximately 21.6 light-years from Earth, it is the nearest celestial object in Taurus.

Key takeaways

WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 (abbreviated WISE 0410+1502) is a sub-brown dwarf of spectral class Y0, located in the constellation Taurus. At approximately 21.6 light-years from Earth, it is the nearest celestial object in Taurus.

History of observations

Discovery WISE 0410+1502 was discovered in 2011 from data, collected by Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) Earth-orbiting satellite—NASA infrared-wavelength 40 cm (16 in) space telescope, which mission lasted from December 2009 to February 2011. WISE 0410+1502 has two discovery papers: Kirkpatrick et al. (2011) and Cushing et al. (2011), however, basically with the same authors and published nearly simultaneously.

Kirkpatrick et al. presented discovery of 98 new found by WISE brown dwarf systems with components of spectral types M, L, T and Y, among which also was WISE 0410+1502. Cushing et al. presented discovery of seven brown dwarfs—one of T9.5 type, and six of Y-type—first members of the Y spectral class, ever discovered and spectroscopically confirmed, including "archetypal member" of the Y spectral class WISE 1828+2650, and WISE 0410+1502. These seven objects are also the faintest seven of 98 brown dwarfs, presented in Kirkpatrick et al. (2011).

Distance Currently the most accurate distance estimate of WISE 0410+1502 is a trigonometric parallax, published in 2021 by Kirkpatrick et al.: 151.3±2.0 mas, corresponding to a distance 6.61±0.09 pc, or 21.6±0.3 ly. An outdated parallax by Marsh et al. in 2013 corresponded to an even closer distance of approximately 14 light-years.

Space motion WISE 0410+1502 has a large proper motion of 2,418.3±1.1 milliarcseconds per year. The brown dwarf WISE 0410+1502 lies in local void 6.5 parsecs across, where relatively few stars and brown dwarfs are located.

Physical properties The object's temperature estimate is 451±88 K. Cushing et al. obtained a low-resolution Magellan/FIRE spectrum and later they obtained a higher quality spectrum with Hubble WFC3, confirming the Y0 spectral type. The fitting of the spectrum with cloudy models produces realistic values and Leggett et al. finds a mass of about 10–15 MJ. The atmosphere is likely in a chemical disequilibrium and a cloud-free disequilibrium model does fit well with the Y- and H-band, but does not fit well with the J-band.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5

In research: WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 2011, Taurus (constellation), WISE objects, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 in simple terms?

Why does WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5 matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on WISEPA J041022.71+150248.5.