What’s the smallest thing that can still be called a star? ✨ Deep in the Flame Nebula, 1 400 light-years away, astronomers have found objects so tiny they sit at the very edge of what we consider a star. These brown dwarfs, sometimes called “failed stars,” lack the mass to ignite hydrogen fusion like our Sun. But thanks to esawebb, we can now detect them in greater detail than ever before. Using Webb’s infrared vision, astronomers identified free-floating objects as small as 2-3 times the mass of Jupiter—possibly the lightest brown dwarfs ever found. This pushes the boundaries of how stars and planets form, revealing new clues about the low-mass limit of star formation. For years, hubbleesa helped pinpoint brown dwarf candidates, but Webb is taking the search further. By peering through the dense dust of the nebula, it’s uncovering objects that challenge what we know about stars, planets, and everything in between. Could there be even smaller, planet-sized objects drifting freely i...