2M1207

The brown dwarf and its planet.

Spectral type: M8

A member of the TW Hydrae Association, 2M1207 (full catalog designation: 2MASSWJ1207334-393254) is an 8 million year old brown dwarf with a planet of its own, known as 2M1207 b.

Like a real star, 2M1207 has a surrounding disk of hydrogen gas, the leftovers of the brown dwarf's formation. But in contrast to regular solar system foundation, the planet probably was not born out of the brown dwarf's disk. Instead, the planet and brown dwarf likely formed together by gravitational collapse out of a clump of gas and dust.