Brown Dwarfs: Crash Course Astronomy #28

While Jupiter is nowhere near massive enough to initiate fusion in its core, there are even more massive objects out there that fall just short of that achievement called brown dwarfs. Brown dwarfs have a mass between giant planets and small stars. They were only recently discovered in the 1990s, but thousands are now known. More massive ones can fuse deuterium, and even lithium, but not hydrogen, distinguishing them from “normal” stars. Sort of.

Correction: In the illustration at 9:30, the numbers listed after the star names are the year of discovery, not distance.

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Chapters:
Introduction: Brown Dwarfs 00:00
L Stars & The Lithium Test 2:50
Discovering the First Brown Dwarfs 4:14
What Color Are Brown Dwarfs? 6:24
Physical Characteristics of Brown Dwarfs 7:30
Small Stars vs. Big Planets 8:11
Review 10:17
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PHOTOS/VIDEOS
Gliese 229B Spectrum - image provided by Phil Plait [credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble/Al Schultz et al]

[james]

best series on YouTube ever. I'm addicted

[Bird_Dog]

I think Phil's last sentence before the recap is a very important one.
"Having to rewrite the books of sience - again." (not exactly what he said, but that's the message) is actualy what makes science so credible to me.
Science isn't afraid of admiting and correcting mistakes and missinterpretations.
Science, the accumulation of knowlege, is an ongoing process.

[HeraldoS]

0:42 Minecraft blocks converting Jupiter into a star, awesome.

[ChrisBrengel]

3:43 So _THAT'S_ what the elements look like! I think kids would like the periodic table much more if you had these little graphics on them!

[sion]

I liked the part where he talks about his involvement in the science of Brown Dwarfs, it makes it even more interesting and authoritative as he is a part of how we knew about these celestial bodies!

[FruitSlice]

Phil's enthusiasm is so contagious, I love every episode.

[josephmatthews]

Elite Dangerous actually did a good job representing brown dwarfs. Weird, I thought they took a lot of artistic license with them. They are actually pretty darn beautiful.

[MrLookatmyhat]

thought bubble periodic table poster please

[Depipro]

6:22 alternative - Oh Boy A Frickin' Giant Killing Machine Lumbers Towards You? Or perhaps you'd prefer: Our Best Approach For Gaining Knowledge Makes Little Toddlers Yawn?

[RetroSnoop]

I always liked reading about the planets and stars when I was a child and this channel is resparking my interest in astronomy. Loving the videos, keep making them!

[RubenJMorenoMusic]

This has so far been my favorite video. I have loved astronomy since I took it in college to fulfill a science credit. Thank you so much for making these videos and supplementing my astronomical education.

[MysRyuza]

I love that there are hot stars, but also cool stars, which not many regular people outside space-related interests talk about. The brown dwarfs made me so intrigued that such a thing would exist

[dryzalizer]

This episode was sub-stellar, and I mean that in the best possible way ;)

[androkguz]

"Oh Boy A Feral Giraffe Killed My Transparent Yeti!" 
That was so funny xD

[K_i_t_t_y]

Can y'all do a video about Rogue Planets soon? Thank you!

[headrockbeats]

Imagine the public outrage if they ever decide to reclassify Jupiter as a Dwarf Brown Dwarf. Or a Dwarfatoid.

[DuranmanX]

Updates to textbooks should just get patches

[emilycooper]

Though I respect his vast knowledge, my astronomy professor lectures dryly for an hour and a half with no visuals and little humor. Our final exam is tomorrow and this is helping me so much!!!! Thank

[vladskiobi]

Funny how people who don't know what they're talking about call Jupiter a failed star, when not even 10 Jupiters is enough to amount to even a Brown Dwarf. It's not a failed Star, it's a very successful planet.

[OnTheWhistle]

it's really cool that this is stuff Phil has personally taken the time to study and work on. you can tell he has some very strong opinions on this topic.