The strong evidence of water clouds on a body outside the solar system have been found by astronomers for the first time.
Failed star has clouds of water, or water ice, in its atmosphere suggested by the observations of a frigid object called WISE 0855, which lies 7.2 light-years from Earth.
Study lead author Andrew Skemer, an assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said, "We would expect an object that cold to have water clouds, and this is the best evidence that it does".
In the new study, Skemer and his colleagues used the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii to study the brown dwarf for 13 nights. Gemini North is located on the highest Hawaiian mountain (Mauna Kea), at an altitude with little water vapor to interfere with telescopic observations.
Through this observation, astronomers are able to make the first spectroscopy (light fingerprint) measurements of WISE 0855.
The team found water vapor and also confirmed the object's temperature, which is about minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 degrees Celsius, or 250 kelvins).
Skemer said, that "WISE 0855 is five times fainter than any other object detected with ground-based spectroscopy at this wavelength".
"Now that we have a spectrum, we can really start thinking about what's going on in this object. Our spectrum shows that WISE 0855 is dominated by water vapor and clouds, with an overall appearance that is strikingly similar to Jupiter," added Skemer.