Kevin Luhman is a professor of astronomy and astrophysics from
Pennsylvania State University who discovered both the third closest stellar system
Luhman 16
Luhman 16 (WISE 1049−5319, WISE J104915.57−531906.1) is a binary brown-dwarf system in the southern constellation Vela at a distance of approximately from the Sun. These are the closest-known brown dwarfs and the closest syst ...
and the fourth closest stellar system
WISE 0855−0714
WISE 0855−0714 (full designation WISE J085510.83−071442.5, or W0855 for short) is a sub-brown dwarf () from Earth, therefore the fourth- closest star or (sub-) brown dwarf system to the Sun, the discovery of which was announced i ...
[ Credit: weareCentralPA.com, ] to the Sun. Both systems are composed of substellar objects (objects less massive than stars), falling into the category of
brown dwarfs
Brown dwarfs (also called failed stars) are substellar objects that are not massive enough to sustain nuclear fusion of ordinary hydrogen ( 1H) into helium in their cores, unlike a main-sequence star. Instead, they have a mass between the most ...
(Luhman 16) or even less massive objects (WISE 0855−0714) which are categorized as
sub-brown dwarfs but also referred to as "free floating planets" or "planetary mass objects". WISE 0855−0714 (discovery published 2014) is the coldest massive object outside the solar system that has been directly imaged.
Luhman 16 was named for its discoverer, following common practice for very nearby stars discovered in modern times.
These discoveries were made through analysis of mid-infrared data from the
WISE satellite, a
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
mission that mapped the entire sky and detected several hundred million stars. The satellite mapped the entire sky twice between January 2010 and January 2011, thereby providing two sets of images and coordinates for every star. The motions of the nearest stars over the six month interval between the two sets of observations were measurable, enabling the discovery of these new objects.
Luhman graduated from the University of Texas with a B.A. in astronomy and a B.S. in physics in 1993.
[Eberly College of Science, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State University, http://www.astro.psu.edu/people/kll207] He earned his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Arizona in 1998.
References
American astronomers
Pennsylvania State University faculty
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
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