Illustration of brown dwarf Luhman 16A. Brown dwarfs are dim star-like bodies that lack the mass to burn nuclear fuel as stars do. Astronomers discovered a band of clouds (dark red) around Luhman 16A using polarimetry. This is a technique that measures polarized light from an object. Luhman 16A's partner brown dwarf, Luhman 16B, is also seen (red, left). Luhman 16A and 16B are the closest brown dwarf system to Earth.