W1935: First candidate for auroras with methane emissions
Astronomers, using the James Webb Space Telescope, conducted a study of 12 cool brown dwarfs — small and not very bright stars. During the study, two of them, W1935 and W2220, showed remarkable similarities in composition, brightness and temperature.
However, W1935 stood out among them by showing the presence of methane, while W2220 showed the expected feature of absorbing this gas. Scientists suggest that methane emissions may be caused by processes associated with auroras, but more research is required to fully explain this phenomenon.
W1935 — the first candidate for auroras outside the solar system in which the presence of methane was detected. It is also the coldest aurora candidate with temperatures around 200 degrees Celsius.
In our solar system, the solar wind is the main source of auroras, and active moons such as Io and Enceladus play a role in the auroras of Jupiter and Saturn. However, W1935 does not have a companion, and the stellar wind cannot be the cause of the observed methane emissions. Further research will help determine whether an active moon may play a role in the methane emission phenomenon of W1935.
The discovery of methane in cool brown dwarfs is of great importance for astrophysics, since this gas is an important indicator of the presence of organic molecules and potentially suitable conditions for life. In the future, studying methane from W1935 can expand our understanding of the conditions for the emergence and development of life beyond our planet.