Spitzer + Hubble Space Telescope Parallaxes of 13 Late T and Y Dwarfs
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We present astrometric measurements for 13 cold brown dwarfs in the solar neighborhood ( d < 20 pc). By combining archival Spitzer data with our own Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations, we achieve parallax uncertainties typically around 10%. Using Spitzer and HST photometry we compare our targets with other known late T and Y dwarfs in the Solar neighborhood, confirming that there is large intrinsic scatter in the near- and mid-infrared absolute magnitudes and colors of this population, further highlighting the diversity observed spectroscopically by several James Webb Space Telescope programs. This scatter makes photometric distance estimates highly unreliable and, therefore, makes astrometric parallax measurements fundamental for a meaningful characterization of even the nearest cold brown dwarfs.
Source: The Astronomical Journal
Authors: Federico Marocco, J. Davy Kirkpatrick, Richard L. Smart, Adam C. Schneider, Dan Caselden, Edgardo Costa, Michael C. Cushing, Maximiliano Dirk, Peter R. M. Eisenhardt, Jacqueline K. Faherty, Christopher R. Gelino, Marc J. Kuchner, Aaron M. Meisner, Rene A. Mendez, Robert A. Stiller, Edward L. Wright
Institutions: California Institute of Technology, Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, National Institute for Astrophysics, United States Naval Observatory, U.S. Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station, American Museum of Natural History, University of Chile, University of Toledo, University of Hertfordshire, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Goddard Space Flight Center, NSF NOIRLab, University of California, Los Angeles
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,499
OpenAlex ID: W7154029313