7 research outputs found
VVV J165507.19-421755.5: A Nearby T Dwarf Hidden in the Galactic Plane
© 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/We present the discovery of VVV J165507.19â421755.5, a mid-T dwarf found through ongoing unWISE-based proper motion searches. A near-infrared spectrum of this object obtained with the NIRES instrument on the Keck II telescope indicates a spectral classification of T5. Using data from the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) catalog with a 9 year baseline, we measure a proper motion of ( Όαcos(ÎŽ) , ÎŒ ÎŽ ) = (â631.0 ± 1.3, â315.0 ± 1.4) mas yrâ1 and a trigonometric parallax of Ï abs = 66.0 ± 4.8 mas, corresponding to a distance of 15.2 ± 1.1 pc. The trigonometric parallax agrees well with our photometric distance estimate (16.1 â3.9+5.1 pc) assuming that VVV J165507.19â421755.5 is a single T5 dwarf. VVV J165507.19â421755.5 is a new member of the 20 parsec census.Peer reviewe