James Webb telescope finds 1st possible 'failed stars' beyond the Milky Way — and they could...

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have peeked over the Milky Way's back fence and found that there's something strange about the stellar infants playing next door.

While zooming in on the young star cluster NGC 602 in the nearby Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), the researchers spotted what may be the first evidence of brown dwarfs ever seen outside the Milky Way. Brown dwarfs, or "failed stars," are peculiar objects that are bigger than the largest planets but not massive enough to sustain nuclear fusion like stars.

The observations, which include a stunning new image of the star cluster courtesy of JWST's Near Infrared Camera, reveal fresh insight into how these strange failed stars form. The team published its research Oct. 23 in The Astrophysical Journal.