The discovery was made possible thanks to the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in the Atacama Desert in Chile, one of the most advanced observatories in the world. The planet lies 430 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Aquila but is not visible to the naked eye.
This marks the second confirmed observation of a planet in an early formation stage around a Sun-like star, following a similar discovery in 2018. The planet was imaged using near-infrared light, where it still glows and remains hot due to its formation process.
The team from Leiden University captured a stunningly clear image of the embryonic planet embedded in a gap within the disk, confirming its orbit around its star. Meanwhile, the University of Arizona team successfully observed it in visible light, noting that it is still accumulating gas to build its atmosphere.
The study was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, with contributions from Leiden, Galway, and Arizona universities. Dr. Christian Ginski from the University of Galway described the moment of discovery:
"We relied on short observations of young stars, but we were surprised to find a magnificent multi-ring dusty disk. That’s when we realized the need to search for a planet within it and requested immediate follow-up."
The disk surrounding the planet has a diameter of about 380 astronomical units (AU), equivalent to 380 times the distance between Earth and the Sun. Observations indicate that dust- and gas-rich disks around young stars serve as vital nurseries for planet formation, often appearing in beautiful shapes with rings and spiral arms resulting from the planetary birth process.
The study was led by a young team of researchers, including PhD student Rietchel van Kapelvin from Leiden University, who described the experience as “amazing and extremely fortunate.” Chloe Lallor, an astrophysics student at the University of Galway, said, “I feel greatly privileged to participate in a discovery that may define my career path.”
Jake Byrne, a master’s student, expressed his astonishment:
"It was almost unbelievable that the discovery was real when seeing the first image," adding that this achievement “will open the door to new scientific discussions and enhance our understanding of planet formation.”