Astronomers witness the birth of a new solar system
The decades since scientists confirmed the first planet around another star have been rich in discovery, but it’s rare to see a new solar system as it forms
An image of WISPIT 2 taken by the Very Large Telescope in Chile. Astronomers have just found a second gas giant recently formed from the star’s protoplanetary disk.
ESO/C. Lawlor, R. F. van Capelleveen et al.
Planets around other stars can help answer one of the greatest mysteries: how did we get here? How did the spinning disk of material left behind by our sun’s birth form our planet and its seven neighbors? Typically astronomers find planets of similar ages to the ones in our solar system, but that’s starting to change.
In a study published today in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, astronomers reveal a baby solar system forming around a star some 437 light-years from Earth—it is only the second ever to be confirmed. The first, PDS 70, was discovered in 2018.
“This is a really exciting discovery,” says Jason Wang, an astronomer at Northwestern University who wasn’t involved in the research. “In astronomy, we often joke that when we have a sample size of one, we have an anomaly, but when we have a sample size of two, we have a population.”
On supporting science journalism
If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
The astronomers behind the study last year revealed that the star, called WISPIT 2, had a protoplanet forming around it, WISPIT 2b. It marked the first time a baby planet had been imaged in a protoplanetary disk. Now, they believe there are two gas giant planets, with the second about ten times the size of Jupiter.
And the authors think there are more protoplanets to find around WISPIT 2. The star appears to be surrounded by a more extensive, structured ring of matter than PDS 70. And further out in the disk, the astronomers have spotted a third, smaller break in the material—a tantalizing hint that matter there may have already collapsed into a planet closer to Saturn’s size. The new finding was made using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile’s Atacama Desert, and the authors hope that its successor, the Extremely Large Telescope, will be able to snap photos of the third hypothetical infant.
“These structures suggest that more planets are currently forming, which we will eventually detect,” says Chloe Lawlor, a PhD student at the University of Galway in Ireland and the study’s lead author. By studying this new planetary nursery and others like it, astronomers hope to get a tighter grasp on how our own solar system came to be.
For her part, Lawlor is surprised to have led such a groundbreaking study as a young scientist. “Often there is a lot of self-doubt for people at my career stage,” she says. “I hope this discovery helps others to realize that while they might not know it all yet, they still know enough to do big things.”
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
