"Elenin is a Brown Dwarf!"
"Tyche is a Brown Dwarf!"
"Nemesis is a Brown Dwarf!"
''The Dark Star is a Brown Dwarf!"
"Hellion1957 is a Brown Dwarf!"
"SNR G1.9+0.3 is a Brown Dwarf!"
We've heard it over and over again. The above list is just 6 objects I've personally heard doomsayers shoehorn into the classification of brown dwarf, often to label it Nibiru as well. (I'm sure others have been as well.) In fact, the brown dwarf star has become the favorite object of doom among the Nibiruists. So much, in fact, that arguments over what it means to be a brown dwarf will break out at the least provocation, even when compared to similar objects (such as the large gas giant hypothetical Tyche might be, at 1-4 Mj.)
The question is, why? Why is the brown dwarf THE object to be if you want to destroy the Earth. I have two potential explanations:
(1) The brown dwarf is viewed as the 'stealth star', invisible except in the infrared. We know this is patently untrue, a brown dwarf would be at least as bright as a large gas giant. However, people assume the use of infrared to spot them over interstellar distances means it is the only way of detecting them, when in reality, it is merely the most effective at long distances. Once you have a 'stealth star', you can ignore questions of, "Well, where is it then?"
(2) Aliens. A little more abstract, but since a brown dwarf is a star, then it could have life bearing planets and the believer can shoehorn alien beliefs into the narrative. (The Nibiruists seem to favor the Annukai, but often have a host of generalized alien beliefs.) We know brown dwarfs can have dust disks, which would infer potential planet formation, but I don't know if you can get a habitable zone out of such a weak heat source.
Is there something I'm missing? The reason I ask is twofold. First, I can't get a Nibiru believer to actually state why the brown dwarf classification is important to them. (Not surprising.) Second, knowing WHY it's important makes it a bit easier to undercut from a debate standpoint.
