NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope has revealed the chemical secrets of dozens of brown dwarfs, the dim objects that sit between stars and planets. The findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal this week.The study analysed observations of 37 nearby brown dwarfs. By measuring their brightness in 102 different colours, scientists created detailed spectra of each object.

The spectra showed atmospheres rich in water, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane.Brown dwarfs form from collapsing clouds of gas, like stars, but lack the mass to sustain hydrogen fusion. They drift alone through space, heated only from within. Only a few dozen had been studied in detail before.“We’re seeing the signatures of these molecules and how they change from object to object across the entire temperature regime,” said study co-author J.

Davy Kirkpatrick of Caltech’s IPAC. SPHEREx is already analysing thousands more.Launched in March 2025, SPHEREx takes about 3,600 unique images per day to map the entire sky. Its main mission is to reconstruct the first moments after the Big Bang and search for the chemical ingredients of life.