WISE J085510.83-071442.5

This artist's conception shows the object named WISE J085510.83-071442.5, the coldest known brown dwarf. Brown dwarfs are dim star-like bodies that lack the mass to burn nuclear fuel as stars do.

WISE J085510.83-071442.5 is as cold as the North Pole (or between minus 54 and 9 degrees Fahrenheit, which is minus 48 to minus 13 degrees Celsius). The color of the brown dwarf in this image is arbitrary; it would have different colors when viewed in different wavelength ranges.

This celestial orb is also the fourth closest to our sun, at 7.2 light-years from Earth. In this illustration, the sun is the bright star directly to the right of the brown dwarf. Our sun's closest neighboring system (not pictured) is Alpha Centauri, at 4 light-years from Earth.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Penn State University

Note: For more information, see PIA18002: Cold and Quick: a Fast-Moving Brown Dwarf, PIA18003: Welcome to the Sun's Neighborhood, NASA's Spitzer, WISE Find Sun's Close, Cold Neighbor, and Discovered: A Cold, Close Neighbor of the Sun.