2MASS J0523−1403 is a very-low-mass red dwarf about 40 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Lepus, with a very faint visual magnitude of 21.05 and a low effective temperature of 2074 K. It is visible primarily in large telescopes sensitive to infrared light.
[5] Observation with the Hubble Space Telescope has detected no companion beyond 0.15 arcsecond.
[7] Members of the RECONS group have recently identified 2MASS J0523−1403 as representative of the smallest possible stars.
[2] This local minimum is predicted to occur at the hydrogen burning limit due to differences in the radius-mass relationships of stars and brown dwarfs.
Unlike hydrogen-burning stars, brown dwarfs decrease in radius as mass increases due to their cores being supported by degeneracy pressure.