JWST’s First Direct Spectrum of a Planetary-Mass Object – astrobites

The observed spectrum of the brown dwarf VHS 1256 b from JWST's NIRSpec and MIRI instruments. The overall spectral shape is similar to a blackbody peaked near 2 microns, but with significant and obvious absorption features from gases like water vapor, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and clouds. Each instrumental filter is colored, with red between 1 and 2 micron, pink between 2 and 3, yellow between 3 and 5, blue between 5 and 7, green between 7 and 12, and purple 12 to 20 micron. The peak spectral flux is 10 to the minus 15 watts per square meter per micron.

JWST’s First Direct Spectrum of a Planetary-Mass Object

The second major result from JWST’s Direct Imaging ERS Team – a stunning brown dwarf spectrum!