We present the discovery of a bright ( J = 13.94 \pm 0.03 ) T dwarf , 2MASS 1503+2525 , identified in a new , wide-field search for T dwarfs using the recently completed Two Micron All Sky Survey ( 2MASS ) .
The 1–2.5 \micron spectrum of this object exhibits the strong H _ { 2 } O and CH _ { 4 } bands characteristic of mid- and late-type T dwarfs , and we derive a spectral type of T5.5 using both the Burgasser et al .
and the Geballe et al .
classification schemes .
Based on its spectral type and the absolute magnitudes of known T dwarfs , we estimate the distance of this object as 8 \pm 3 pc if it is single , likely within 10 pc of the Sun .
Our new 2MASS search , which covers 74 % of the sky and greatly expands on earlier color constraints , should identify 15–25 new T dwarfs with J \leq 16 .
Combined with the 20 known members of this class that already fall within our search criteria , our new sample will provide improved statistics for such key quantities as the binary fraction and the field substellar mass function .
Furthermore , multiple detections from overlapping 2MASS scans provide multiple epoch astrometry and photometry , and we present proper motions for five T dwarfs in our sample .