astronomy

WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9

WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9 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 J173835.53+273258.9 rather than just read about it. In short: WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9 (abbreviated WISE 1738+2732) is a brown dwarf of spectral class Y0, located in the constellation Hercules at 24.9 light-years from Earth. It is the nearest celestial object in Hercules.

Key takeaways

WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9 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 J173835.53+273258.9 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9 (abbreviated WISE 1738+2732) is a brown dwarf of spectral class Y0, located in the constellation Hercules at 24.9 light-years from Earth. It is the nearest celestial object in Hercules.

History of observations WISE 1738+2732 was discovered in 2011 from data, collected by the 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 1738+2732 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 1738+2732. 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 1738+2732. These seven objects are also the faintest seven of 98 brown dwarfs, presented in Kirkpatrick et al. (2011). Currently the most accurate distance estimate of WISE 1738+2732 is a trigonometric parallax, published in 2021 by Kirkpatrick et al.: 130.9±2.1 mas, corresponding to a distance of 7.6±0.1 pc, or 24.9±0.4 ly. WISE 1738+2732 has a proper motion of 481.2±1.1 milliarcseconds per year.

Properties The object's temperature estimate is 350 (350–400) K. Its spectrum is similar to the spectrum of another Y-dwarf, WISE 1405+5534. Disequilibrium chemistry models suggest that this Y-dwarf has a low mass of about 3–9 MJup, making it a possible isolated planetary-mass object, together with WISE 0350-5658. A more recent paper finds a mass of 5–14 MJup. WISE 1405 is variable in the near- and mid-infrared. The observations were made with the Gemini Observatory and Spitzer. It has a rotation period of 6.0 ± 0.1 hours and the amplitude is 3% for 4.5 μm and may be as high as 5–30% in the near-infrared. This dependence on wavelength can be reproduced with patchy cloud layers made up of potassium chloride (KCl) and sodium sulfide (Na2S).

See also List of star systems within 20–25 light-years List of Y-dwarfs WISE 0148-7202 (T9.5) WISE 0410+1502 (Y0) WISE 1405+5534 (Y0 (pec?)) WISE 1541-2250 (Y0.5) WISE 1828+2650 (≥Y2) WISE 2056+1459 (Y0)

Notes

References

Marsh, Kenneth A.; Wright, Edward L.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Gelino, Christopher R.; Cushing, Michael C.; Griffith, Roger L.; Skrutskie, Michael F.; Eisenhardt, Peter R. (2013). "Parallaxes and Proper Motions of Ultracool Brown Dwarfs of Spectral Types Y and Late T". The Astrophysical Journal. 762 (2): 119. arXiv:1211.6977. Bibcode:2013ApJ...762..119M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/762/2/119. S2CID 42923100.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9 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 J173835.53+273258.9 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 J173835.53+273258.9 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 J173835.53+273258.9

In research: WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9 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 J173835.53+273258.9 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 J173835.53+273258.9 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 2011, Brown dwarfs, Hercules (constellation), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9 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 J173835.53+273258.9 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9 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 J173835.53+273258.9 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9 in simple terms?

Why does WISEPA J173835.53+273258.9 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 J173835.53+273258.9?

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 J173835.53+273258.9.