Search for Hidden Cosmic Companions in Sun’s Backyard

Some stars have planets. Others are orbited by brown dwarfs, balls of gas too massive to be planets, but too low-mass to be stars. Astronomers love these brown dwarf-star pairs because being paired with a star helps reveal a brown dwarf’s age. Ages of astronomical objects are often hard to measure, but essential for understanding how they form.  Now, you can join NASA’s new Backyard Worlds: Binaries project and help astronomers discover these rare and interesting pairs. As a volunteer, you’ll inspect images from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope. Brown dwarfs may appear as small dots moving across a field of otherwise static stars.  “We need your help to gain critical insights into these enigmatic cosmic objects,” said project lead Aaron Meisner. Brown dwarfs are common but mysterious because they are so faint. There’s one for every three or four stars in our corner of the Milky Way galaxy. They are important laboratories for understanding giant planets like Jupiter. Join the Backyard Worlds: Binaries project today and help astronomers understand where and when brown dwarfs form! You can also try one of our other brown dwarf-related projects: Backyard Worlds: Cool Neighbors! Anyone with a laptop or cell phone can participate. Participation does not require citizenship in any particular country. Facebook logo @nasascience_ @nasascience_ Instagram logo @nasascience_ Linkedin logo @nasascience_ Share Details Last Updated Jun 17, 2026 Editor NASA Science Editorial Team Related Terms Citizen Science Astrophysics Division Brown Dwarfs WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) Explore More 4 min read NASA’s Webb Catches Exoplanet Getting Roasted That’s the latest from researchers analyzing NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s observations of HD 80606… Article 23 hours ago 2 min read Hubble Sees Swarm of Galaxies Looking somewhat like a swarm of bees returning to their hive, this NASA Hubble Space… Article 5 days ago 2 min read Be a Clump Scout and Help Reveal Secrets of Stellar Nurseries Help identify star-forming clumps in galaxy images, and help train machines to do the same. Article 2 weeks ago The post Search for Hidden Cosmic Companions in Sun’s Backyard appeared first on NASA Science.