Yes, it IS a big deal. A brown dwarf is NOT a star, precisely because it can't ignite hydrogen fusion as do protostars when they turn into "normal" stars. And if you don't believe me, look it up on any serious astronomy page or in a book. You might as well say that Jupiter is a star (many scientists are not sure where to draw the line between brown dwarfs and planets, but there is a clear distinction between stars and brown dwarfs)

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You are the universe trying to make sense of itself.
- David Darling

I can't remember where I got this from but it seems appropriate. I'll delete it if anybody thinks it's too over the top.

Mnemonics for the
Harvard Spectral Classification Scheme

The modern stellar spectral classification scheme (also known as the Harvard Spectral Classification Scheme) was created by Annie Jump Cannon through her examination of spectra from 1918 to 1924. Originally, the scheme used capital letters running alphabetically, but was later reordered to reflect the surface temperatures of stars. In order of decreasing temperature, these types were O, B, A, F, G, K. and M. Three additional categories also in the scheme: R, N, and S types, were later realized to represent stars with peculiar heavy-metal abundances. Other types (Q for novae, W for Wolf-Rayet stars, etc) are not encountered frequently. According to astronomical myth, Henry Norris Russell suggested the following mnemonic to assist students in remembering the scheme:
Oh Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me!
There have been many efforts since to improve on this mnemonic. The motivations are various: to include the R, N, and S and even W stellar types, to find a mnemonic for the vast number of astronomers who would really not want to be kissed by a girl, by the feeling that really we can't let Russell have the last word on this subject, or just as a fun homework assignment for students. Owen Gingerich (CfA) holds an annual contest in his "The Astronomical Perspective" course , and a summary of many winning submissions was published in his article "The Great Mnemonics Contest" in Phyllis Lugger, ed, ASTEROIDS TO QUASARS: A SYMPOSIUM HONOURING WILLIAM LILLER (Cambridge University Press, 1991). The Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy also held a competition on the subject in 1995 and Russell's mnemonic (subject to the substitute of Guy or Gal for Girl) remained the most popular of the submissions. Our humble efforts, which draw on all these resources, plus many suggestions from others, are presented here.
The Traditional
1. Oh Be A Fine [Guy/Gal/Girl] Kiss Me (Right Now [Smack/Sweetheart]).
2. Oh Begone, A Friend's Gonna Kiss Me (Right Now Smack).
3. Only Boys Accepting Feminism Get Kissed Meaningfully.
Political
1. Official Bureaucrats At Federal Government Kill Many Researchers' National Support
2. Only Big Astronomy Federal Grants Keep Money. Research Needs Support!
The Joys of College
1. Oh Boy! Another Failing Grade Keeps Me Reconsidering Night School.
2. Oh Bother, Astronomers Frequently Give Killer Midterms.
3. Oh Bother, Another F's Gonna Kill Me.
4. Oh [Beautiful/Brutal/Big] And [Fine/Fearless/Ferocious] Gorilla, [Kill/Kidnap] My Roommate Next Saturday.
5. Old Boring Astronomers Find Great Kicks Mustily Regaling Napping Students.
6. Obese Balding Astronomer Found Guilty Killing Many Reluctant Nonscience Students.
Appeals to Physics and Astronomy
1. Observationalists Basically Are Fine Generous Kind Men (Really Not Sexist)
(credited to Wendy Haugen-Bauer, Wellesley College)
2. Oh Backward Astronomer, Forget Geocentricity;
Kepler's Motions Reveal Nature's Simplicity.
(Ohhhh... it rhymes!)
3. Organs Blaring and Fugues Galore,
Kepler's Music Reads Nature's Score.
(Oh... so does this one. Do I get impressed too easily?)
4. Out Beyond Andromeda, Fiery Gases Kindle Many Radiant New Stars.
5. Orbs, Bright And Fair, Generate Kinder Memories: Revolving Nighttime Skies.
6. Only Bright Astral Fires Going Kaput Make Real Neutron Stars.
For the old film buffs
1. Overseas Bulletin: A Flash! Godzilla Kills Mothra! (Rodan Named Successor).
Appeals to Mechanics
1. Oil Buffers A Fragile Gasket, Keeps Motors Running Nearly Smooth.
Alternative Cuisine
1. Oh, Bring A Fully Grown Kangaroo
My Recipe Needs Some!
[This 1969 prize winner claims to be a haiku, but poetic purists point out the match to the haiku form is imperfect]
2. Oven-Baked Ants, when Fried Gently, and Kept Moist, Retain Natural Succulence.
Ecology
1. When Obstreperous Beasts Approach, Fragrant Geraniums Knowingly May Receive Night's Stigmata.
[A rare mnemonic that includes W (Wolf-Rayet) stars]
2. Old Bottles And Filthy Garbage Kill Many Rare Natural Species.
3. Oregon Beavers Attack Famous Gardens, Killing Many, Rangers Now Shooting.
4. One Bug Ate Five Green Killer Moths.
Submissions which defy categorization...
1. Occupied Baker's Assistants Forget Giant Kitchen Mouse, Receive Nasty Scratches.
2. Only Bungling Astronomers Forget Generally Known Mnemonics!
3. Only Boring Astronomers Find Gratification Knowing Mnemonics!
4. Our Brother Andrew Found Green Killer Martians.

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Heisenberg was here (probably).

=D>

from M stars to brown dwarfs, T dwarfs and planets, some of these links may be of some help...

The End of the Main Sequence

The Theory of Brown Dwarfs and Extrasolar Giant Planets

Beyond the T Dwarfs....

As noted just below, these are .pdf files and may be read with free-ware Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Warning! Those are .pdf filess, so make sure you have Acrobat installed...

Wouldn't the definition between gas giant planet and a brown dwarf be dependant on mass and composition?

Also, I was not aware of the information regarding the Sun. I had assumed (I never read anything different) the Sun was average in our galaxy.

I heard it was Edward Charles Pickering, director of the Harvard College Observatory (and Cannon's boss) who devised the mnemonic.

By the way, the spectral classes R and N have been replaced by C (for carbon stars). It was once thought that R and N stars were cooler than M stars, but it turns out that carbon in their upper atmospheres was absorbing some of the light from their photospheres, making them appear cooler. They're actually as hot as G, K and early M - which rather spoils those longer mnemonics.

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- Learn a lot teaching others.

Not true. Classes R and N have not been replaced by C, astronomers just refer to R and N collectively as C. Except for the additional spectral features due to carbon compounds, R stars resemble K stars, N stars resemble M stars. The carbon compounds absorb blue light, so that the stars look redder.

__________________
You are the universe trying to make sense of itself.
- David Darling