  The birth of stars involves not only accretion but also, counter-intuitively,
the expulsion of matter in the form of highly supersonic outflows. Although
this phenomenon has been seen in young stars, a fundamental question is whether
it also occurs amongst newborn brown dwarfs: these are the so-called 'failed
stars', with masses between stars and planets, that never manage to reach
temperatures high enough for normal hydrogen fusion to occur. Recently,
evidence for accretion in young brown dwarfs has mounted, and their spectra
show lines that are suggestive of outflows. Here we report spectro-astrometric
data that spatially resolve an outflow from a brown dwarf. The outflow's
characteristics appear similar to, but on a smaller scale than, outflows from
normal young stars. This result suggests that the outflow mechanism is
universal, and perhaps relevant even to the formation of planets.
