Researchers reveal brown dwarfs as third class of celestial bodies after stars and planets

(PhysOrg.com) -- The systematics of celestial bodies apparently needs to be revised. Researchers at the Argelander Institute of Astronomy of the University of Bonn have discovered that brown dwarfs need to be treated as a separate class in addition to stars and planets. To date they had been merely regarded as stars which were below normal size. However, they may well be stellar ‘miscarriages’. The astronomers are publishing their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.