WISE J1147−2040

WISE J1147−2040

WISE J1147−2040
Credit: legacy surveys
Observation data
Epoch J2000      Equinox J2000
Constellation Hydra
Right ascension 11h 47m 24.214s
Declination −20° 40 20.44
Characteristics
Evolutionary stage Brown dwarf
or a rogue planet
Spectral type L7V
Astrometry
Distance102 ± 12 ly
(31.3 ± 3.8 pc)
Details
Mass5–10 MJup
Radius2.08 RJup
Temperature1500 ± 100 K
11001200 K
Age7±2.5 Myr
Other designations
WISEA 1147, 2MASS J11472421−2040204, WISEA J114724.10−204021.3
Database references
SIMBADdata

WISEA J114724.10−204021.3 (abbreviated WISEA 1147) is a brown dwarf in the TW Hydrae association, a nearby group of very young stars and brown dwarfs. The object is notable because its estimate mass, 6±1 times the mass of Jupiter, places it in the mass range for rogue planets. As such, it is a free-floating object, unassociated with any star system.

The object was discovered using information from NASA's WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) and the 2MASS (Two Micron All-Sky Survey). Researchers inferred the young age for WISEA 1147 because it is a member of a group of stars that is only 10 million years old, and they estimated its mass using evolutionary models for brown dwarf cooling.