SPITZER to JWST : Mid-infrared spectra of Brown Dwarfs is back!

From 2003 to 2009 the Spitzer Space Telescope obtained the first spectra of brown dwarfs from 5 to 15 microns. This led to the identification of a number of critical molecular features including ammonia in the T dwarfs and silicate grains in the L dwarfs. When Spitzer's cryogen was depleted, our ability to probe the atmospheres of the coolest free-floating objects in the mid-infrared was lost. With the arrival of JWST, we are once again obtaining data and probing the chemistry of brown dwarfs and planet-mass objects in the mid-infrared. But this time we are observing objects that are much colder and much smaller in mass, and we have a new suite of tools and models to analyze the data. In this talk, I will highlight what we learned from Spitzer and how that prepared us for JWST. I will share the new tools we are using to model the atmospheres of these objects. Finally, I will highlight some of the early JWST results and outline what is coming in the future.