Astronomers Discover Brown Dwarf Twins Orbiting Gliese 229

A decades-old mystery is solved as scientists reveal Gliese 229 B is actually two closely orbiting brown dwarfs.

Initial observations from 1995 showed Gliese 229 B as a single brown dwarf with puzzling dimness for its mass.
Recent studies using advanced telescopes confirmed Gliese 229 B is a binary system, consisting of Gliese 229 Ba and Gliese 229 Bb.
The two brown dwarfs have masses of 38 and 34 times that of Jupiter and orbit each other every 12 days.
This discovery clarifies previous inconsistencies between the object's mass and luminosity and enhances understanding of brown dwarfs.
The findings open new avenues for exploring the formation of closely bound brown dwarf and exoplanet binaries.