Astronomy: Baby planet photographed clearing its orbit for the first time
Theories on planet formation are extensive, but evidence is sometimes lacking. It has now been observed how an exoplanet creates a gap between rings.
WISPIT 2 b in its gap
(Image: ESO/R. F. van Capelleveen et al.)
An international research group has for the first time directly discovered a young exoplanet orbiting in the gap between several rings around its star, which it has probably cleared itself. This was reported by the Irish University of Galway and the spectacular image was published by the European Southern Observatory ESO. Its Very Large Telescope (VLT) was involved in the discovery. The exoplanet is called WISPIT 2 b, is probably only around five million years old, most likely a gas giant and significantly larger than Jupiter. It is therefore around 56 astronomical units (AU) away from its star, i.e., further than Neptune is from the sun. There may be another exoplanet in the system.
Enthusiastic researchers
In light of the discovery, Christian Ginski from the University of Galway reminds us once again that exoplanets form in the so-called protoplanetary disks around young stars. They collect the material from the dust and gas disks. It was therefore assumed that they tear gaps in these disks. These have already been observed, but so far no exoplanets have been discovered in them, thus definitively confirming this theory. This is why the discovery is "a big deal", explains Laird Close from the University of Arizona, who led a second research study on the celestial body.
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Although the system of WISPIT 2 is significantly larger than that of the sun, overall it does not look much different from that of our sun shortly after its formation 4.5 billion years ago, the research groups explain. They had not expected to discover such a "spectacular system", adds Richelle van Capelleveen: "This system will probably remain a benchmark for years to come." It is a beautiful specimen that can now be used to test existing models of planet formation, adds Chloe Lawlor. Others in the group speak of an "impressive discovery" that was initially hard to believe.
As the research group from Arizona adds, measurements with an instrument on the 6.5-meter Magellan telescope in Chile have confirmed that hydrogen gas from the surroundings falls directly onto the young exoplanet. This is the piece of the puzzle that was missing until now. WISPIT 2 b is now only the second directly imaged exoplanet in this early phase of its formation. The first such discovery was made in 2018, but PDS 70 b was not enough to confirm the theories about the cause of the gaps. WISPIT 2 b is now presented in two research articles in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
(mho)
