Chandra Release - July 11, 2000

Visual Description: Brown Dwarf LP 944-20

The Chandra X-ray Observatory images of the brown dwarf LP 944-20 shows the source before and during the flare in a 2 panel image. For the first 9 hr 36 min of Chandra's observation, no X-rays were detected from the brown dwarf (left panel - no tiny white dot). Then the brown dwarf turned on with a bright X-ray flare (right panel - tiny white dot) that gradually diminished over the last few hours of the observation. The grainier appearance of the image on the right is due to a shorter exposure time. The bright dots in the background are other X-ray sources, 7 of which have been identified as stars.