In 1995, researchers observed a brown dwarf orbiting Gliese 229 – a red dwarf star located about 19 light-years from Earth.
The brown dwarf names Gliese 229B was too dim for its mass.
Its mass to be about 70 Jupiter masses,it should have been brighter than what telescopes had observed.
Scientists suspected Gliese 229 B might be twins.
The recent research results showed that Gliese 229 B consists of two brown dwarfs (Gliese 229 Ba and Gliese 229 Bb) about 38 and 34 times the mass of Jupiter.
They orbit each other with a period of 12 days and a separation of 16 times the distance between Earth and the Moon.
The observed brightness levels also match what is expected for two small brown dwarfs in this mass range.