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| Image credit: http://point-of-no-23.livejournal.com/1152247.html |
Distance: 12.02 light years from Earth | Content Flag: Public
The binary pair of brown dwarfs sweep the outer regions of the Epsilon Indi system. This probably explains the lack of an outer debris belt like the Solar System’s Kuiper Belt. Although much smaller and less massive than the Sun, the larger is still 52 times the mass of Jupiter, and the smaller of the pair is 33 Jupiter masses. They are both T-class brown dwarfs. We’ve made the history books again by being the first man-made object to observe one up close.
Brown dwarfs are strange stellar objects. They are stars but only just, and as such lack the fusion-powered brilliance of main sequence stars like our Sun. Because of this, they look a little like a cross between a gas giant and a star. They have a dim shine, and the illumination highlights the cloud structure of their atmosphere. It’s a beautiful sight.
It’s also interesting that the Sun Dragon didn’t use these stars for its breeding. The theory is that the entities absorb enough of the star’s energy to divide themselves in a manner similar to cell replication. The energy required is colossal, but could still have been garnered from one of these tiny stars. There has to be a reason why it didn’t and I think I know the answer.
There is complex magnetic field between the two stars. Even with the damaged sensor suite, I can tell that it’s more powerful than the theoretical models indicated. Not more powerful than that around the Sun, so I don’t think that’s the problem. However, the shape of it is very different. It’s not just the form, but the motion as well.
As the brown dwarf stars orbit each other they deform spacetime, and layered upon that is a magnetic field that folds around their rotation and their orbital movement. I believe that the chaotic torsions from the motion would tear a Sun Dragon apart. It’s easy to forget that despite the devastation they cause, they are actually quite fragile. I need more detailed measurements to prove the theory and to see at what scales the Sun Dragons consider the magnetic flux to be a threat. It also means that they must be able to detect the fields in detail. If only I could observe one in an active state and with a full range of sensors.
I’ve transmitted my findings to Earth. I hope they are receiving my data, although I still have no indication that they are.
Nice
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