Astronomers have captured the first clear image of a newborn planet, WISPIT 2b, forming inside a dusty, multi-ringed disk around a young Sun-like star. The glowing gas giant offers a rare glimpse into how planets like Jupiter are born and evolve.
For the first time, astronomers have captured a stunning image of a newborn planet still forming around a young star — a rare glimpse into how worlds like Jupiter and Saturn may have once come to life.
The discovery, led by researchers from Leiden University, the University of Galway, and the University of Arizona, reveals a glowing gas giant named WISPIT 2b nestled inside a spectacular disk of dust and gas. This disk, which stretches nearly 380 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun, is made up of concentric rings — like ripples around the star — and provides the raw material from which planets emerge.
A Planet in the Making
WISPIT 2b is estimated to be just 5 million years old, making it a cosmic infant compared to Earth’s 4.5-billion-year history. The planet, about five times the size of Jupiter, is still hot and glowing because it is actively pulling in gas from its surroundings — essentially bulking up as it forms its atmosphere.
Astronomers spotted it using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, one of the most advanced observatories in the world. They captured the planet in near-infrared light, the kind you would see if you wore night-vision goggles. Later, researchers from the University of Arizona confirmed the find in visible light, further proving the planet’s ongoing growth.
Why This Discovery Matters
This is only the second time ever that scientists have been able to directly image a planet at such an early stage around a Sun-like star. What makes it even more special is that it’s the first confirmed planet found inside a multi-ringed disk, giving researchers a rare opportunity to study how young planets interact with the disks they are born from.
Dr. Christian Ginski from the University of Galway explained that when his team first spotted the disk, they knew something extraordinary was hiding inside:
“When we saw this beautiful multi-ringed disk for the first time, we had to check if there was a planet within it — and sure enough, there it was.”
A Breakthrough for Young Scientists
The discovery was made as part of a five-year research project searching for giant planets around young stars. Interestingly, it was a group of early-career PhD and graduate students who led the analysis, turning what began as a short observation into a groundbreaking finding.
Richelle van Capelleveen, a PhD student from Leiden University who led the study, described it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience:
“Discovering this planet was an amazing experience. We didn’t expect to find such a spectacular system. This will likely become a benchmark for studying planet formation.”
A Cosmic Baby Picture
Scientists say WISPIT 2b could help explain why exoplanet systems — planets orbiting stars beyond our Sun — look so different from each other. By studying this system, astronomers hope to better understand why some planets grow into giants like Jupiter while others remain small and rocky, like Earth.
For now, the image of WISPIT 2b glowing within its birth disk is being celebrated as one of the clearest “baby pictures” of a planet ever taken. As one young researcher put it, “Sometimes you forget the big picture. But then you realize — we just captured a planet being born.”