Dupuy's research at CfA is specifically aimed understanding how brown dwarfs form and evolve over time. His talk tonight, entitled "Cosmic Orphans," is the first of CfA's Observatory Nights talks for 2014.
Brown dwarfs are commonly referred to as failed stars because they appear to have many attributes of actual stars, but never sparked to life with nuclear fusion. They can range between 13 and 90 times the mass of Jupiter, and reach about one-tenth the mass of the sun.
Earlier this month, scientists using NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope found that violent storms of molten iron rain can occur on brown dwarfs.
If you miss CfA's live broadcast on brown dwarfs tonight, the Observatory Night talk will be posted to the center's YouTube channel next week: http://www.youtube.com/user/cfapress
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+.