Brown dwarfs get a bad rap in the stellar world, often labeled as “failed stars” for their inability to sustain nuclear fusion at their cores. The mass of these objects falls between planets and stars, ranging from 13 to 80 times the mass of Jupiter. Because they aren’t massive enough to sustain fusion, they are far fainter and cooler than their stellar comrades.

Now, a new finding led by researchers at Caltech shows how these dim bulbs can join together to shine brightly. Searching through archival observations captured by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory, researchers have identified a very tight-knit pair of brown dwarfs in which one is actively siphoning material from the other.

Ultimately, the brown dwarfs are expected to merge to form a new star; alternatively, the brown dwarf gaining the extra mass will ignite to become a star. Either way, a pair of failed stars will have created a brilliant new star.