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There have been a lot of theories Terry, but the one I'm most partial to is that while it does almost have the mass to for one of the smaller sub-stellar objects (N, L ? stars etc), there are too many impurities in its atmosphere to feasibly sustain any sort of fusion reaction. Yes the may be heaps of semi-liquid metalic hydrogen in the core but there is also a lot of ammonia and contaminants in the atmosphere that keep more from compressing into the core. But that's only one theory.
Many of the dim stars that are imaged (MNL etc) may not be undergoing fusion anyway, but are generating their heat from "gravitational" energy forcing the hydrogen atoms closer together. But its never quite enough to start fusion.
To the last few posters: Please keep the Astronomy Science sub-forum free of spam thank you
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