"We used these really short snapshot observations of many young stars - only a few minutes per object - to determine if we could see a little dot of light next to them that is caused by a planet."
"However, in the case of this star, we instead detected a completely unexpected and exceptionally beautiful multi-ringed dust disk."
"When we saw this multi-ringed disk for the first time, we knew we had to try and see if we could detect a planet within it, so we quickly asked for follow-up observations."
A young gas-giant planet, WISPIT 2b, was directly imaged at an early formation stage around a Sun-like young star and is estimated to be about five million years old. The detection used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile and was captured in near-infrared light. Observations revealed an unexpected, exceptionally beautiful multi-ringed dust disk, and rapid follow-up imaging confirmed the planet within that disk. This represents only the second confirmed planet detected at such an early evolutionary stage around a solar analogue and the first unambiguous planet detection inside a multi-ringed disk, offering an ideal laboratory for studying planet–disk interactions. Researchers involved include teams from Leiden University, University of Galway and University of Arizona.
Read at Irish Independent
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