What mass threshold must an object exceed to fuse ordinary hydrogen ($ ext{}^1 ext{H}$) into helium?
Answer
About 0.08 times the Sun's mass ($0.08 M_{ ext{SOLAR}}$)
The critical distinction between a true star and a substellar object like a brown dwarf hinges on achieving sufficient core temperature and pressure to initiate the sustained fusion of ordinary hydrogen ($ ext{}^1 ext{H}$). This ignition point requires an object to possess at least $0.08$ solar masses, which is equivalent to roughly 80 times the mass of Jupiter. If an object falls below this specific threshold, the core conditions necessary for the long-term, self-sustaining hydrogen-to-helium reaction cannot be met, preventing it from achieving main-sequence status.
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