UNPRECEDENTED! Scientists find a new planet in the making

Researchers from the University of Liège in Belgium and Monash University in Australia have jointly published their findings on a new planet in the making. The research was conducted by analyzing image data from the SPHERE instrument of the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

Until now, only two planets in formation, or protoplanets, had been identified. With this new discovery, a third protoplanet has been added. They are formed from clumps of material in disks around newborn stars.

The protoplanet was found in the disk of gas and dust around HD 169142, a star 374 light-years from our solar system. In the video below, you can see the protoplanet moving in its orbit over time.

Note the bright spiral arm that can be seen in the planet’s wake. It is the result of the dynamic interaction between the planet and the disk in which it resides. Observe:

Looking to the future

Since confirming the existence of a protoplanet is very difficult, the discovery of this planet in formation is important because it helps to better understand how other planets form (especially giants like Jupiter, which is in our Milky Way).

How to identify a planet in formation?

One thing that helps in the process of identifying a planet in formation is its thermal signature. Using the telescope that took infrared photos of HD 169142, researchers were able to identify the protoplanet through its temperature – planets are generally expected to be hot when they are forming.

Another fact that was confirmed through the observation of polarized light images of the protoplanet is that it is surrounded by dust. Valentin Christiaens, a researcher at the PSILab at the University of Liège, talks a little about the observations:

“It appears that we have captured it at a younger stage of its formation and evolution, as it is still completely buried or surrounded by a lot of dust.”

Now, future observations with the James Webb Space Telescope may facilitate further characterization of the protoplanet and independent confirmation.

Furthermore, the expectation is that the telescope’s high sensitivity to infrared light will allow researchers to identify thermal emission from hot dust surrounding the planet.