Brown dwarf stars have been getting some attention lately as astronomers debate whether these small celestial bodies are actually stars (they’re often referred to as failed stars) or large gas giant planets like our own Jupiter. Those supporting the brown-dwarfs-are-gas-giant-planets theory got a boost recently with new research showing that brown dwarfs show evidence of stripes, bands and polar storms similar to those seen on Jupiter. Talk of stars, stipes and bands brings to mind the famous march written and composed by John Philip Sousa in 1896. was he making a subtle comment about brown dwarfs when he wrote “Stars and Stripes Forever“?