Astronomers first image of planet forming shows evidence of how giant planets emerge

(MENAFN) For the first time, astronomers have photographed a planet forming within a dark gap of a dusty, multi-ringed disk around a young star, providing direct evidence of how giant planets emerge.

“Many studies suggested these disk gaps might be caused by protoplanets, but no definitive proof existed until now,” said astronomer Laird Close. “Now we know they can indeed be caused by forming planets.”

The discovery, announced Wednesday by the University of Arizona, was made by an international team led by Close and Richelle van Capelleveen of Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands.

Gabriel Weible, a University of Arizona graduate student involved in the research, described it as “like getting a baby picture of our own solar system.”

The newly observed planet, WISPIT 2b, is estimated to be about five times the mass of Jupiter and orbits 56 astronomical units from its star—roughly twice the distance of Neptune from the Sun. An inner candidate planet, CC1, may have about nine Jupiter masses.

Researchers say this system offers a rare glimpse of what Jupiter and Saturn may have looked like during their formation billions of years ago. The findings also settle a long-standing debate over whether dark gaps in planet-forming disks are caused by planets or other phenomena.

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