James Webb Space Telescope Discovers Aurora Phenomenon on Isolated Brown Dwarf

The brown dwarf, W1935, shows unexpected methane emission, possibly indicating the presence of aurorae, despite lacking a host star.

Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a brown dwarf, W1935, showing infrared emission from methane, suggesting the presence of aurorae.
W1935 is located 47 light-years from Earth and lacks a host star, making the source of energy for the aurorae a mystery.
Two brown dwarfs, W1935 and W2220, were found to be near twins in composition, brightness, and temperature, but only W1935 showed emission from methane.
The team speculates that the methane emission may be due to processes generating aurorae, possibly from internal processes or external interactions with interstellar plasma or a nearby active moon.
This is the first time an aurora has been used to explain a brown dwarf observation, making W1935 the first auroral candidate outside the solar system with the signature of methane emission.