failed star

[ feyld stahr ]

noun

, Astronomy.

1. brown dwarf.
2. gas giant.

Word History and Origins

Origin of failed star¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

“The first criterion was there should be no light coming from the lens,” Sahu says, to rule out more prosaic objects such as a failed star known as a brown dwarf.

From Scientific American

It travels around a single star that is estimated to be 10 percent less massive than our sun, although its parent star is significantly dimmer; researchers say it could be a dim dwarf star or a "failed star."

From Salon

More likely, they wrote, it was a brown dwarf, a sort of failed star that never ignited nuclear fusion reactions.

From Scientific American

“This object is right at the boundary between a planet and a brown dwarf, or ‘failed star,’ and is giving us some surprises that can potentially help us understand magnetic processes on both stars and planets,” Melodie Kao, a lead author of the study, said in a statement.

From Salon

A study published in the Astrophysical Journal last week evaluated this floating mass in more detail; and although it was discovered in 2016, up until now it was thought to be a brown dwarf, a failed star dimmer than a red dwarf star but larger than the largest gas giants.

From Salon