In a landmark discovery, astronomers have directly photographed a “baby” planet, named WISPIT 2b, nestled within a ring-shaped gap in the disk of its young star. This provides the first direct observational evidence for a long-held theory that growing planets carve out these gaps in protoplanetary disks.
WISPIT 2b is a massive protoplanet, a gas giant about five times Jupiter’s mass. At just five million years old, it is actively accumulating material. Located 437 light-years away, it was found using the MagAO-X instrument on the Magellan Telescope in Chile. The team detected the planet by observing it in Hydrogen-alpha (H-alpha) light, a specific wavelength emitted as hydrogen gas falls onto the young world, creating a glowing signature. This direct imaging technique effectively captured a photograph of the infant planet.
The discovery is pivotal because it confirms that the observed gaps in these circumstellar disks are indeed created by forming planets. The data suggests WISPIT 2b formed in its current location and did not migrate there. This offers a glimpse into how our own solar system may have looked billions of years ago, with giants like Jupiter potentially clearing similar paths.
The research, led by the University of Arizona and Leiden Observatory, also identified a second candidate planet in another gap, hinting at a multi-planet system. The findings, supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation, mark a major advance in understanding planet formation.
