For the first time ever, astronomers have directly imaged a young planet forming inside the dusty rings around a star finally confirming a long-standing theory about how planets are born. The newborn planet, named WISPIT 2b, is still gathering mass, and sits in a dark gap between rings of dust and gas encircling its young, Sun-like star.
A Glimpse of Planet Formation
The planet WISPIT 2b circles a star known as WISPIT 2 (also catalogued TYC 5709-354-1), about 5 million years old, located roughly 133 parsecs (≈ 434 light-years) away.
Astronomers observed WISPIT 2b in April 2025 using MagAO-X, an extreme adaptive optics system on the Magellan Telescope in Chile. They looked in visible red light at the hydrogen-alpha (H-α) wavelength, which is a tell-tale signature of hot gas falling onto a forming planet. That “glow” in H-α confirms the planet is still actively accreting material.
In addition, near-infrared observations with the Very Large Telescope’s SPHERE instrument and the LMIRcam camera on the Large Binocular Telescope gave more information about its thermal emission, helping pin down its properties.
Key Physical Details
Here are the most important numbers discovered so far about this forming planet and its system:
Property Measurement / Estimate
Distance from its star (in disk) ~54 AU (de-projected; this is the gap between two bright dust rings)
Mass ~5 Jupiter masses (≈ 5.0 ±0.9 MJ)
Accretion rate (how fast it’s gathering gas) approximately 2.25×10^(−12) solar masses per year
Age of host star / system about 5.1 Myr (million years)
Disk structure Extended disk up to ~380 AU, with multiple bright rings and dark gaps; disk inclination ≈ 44°
There is also a possible second object (candidate) closer to the star, called CC1, with an estimated mass of ~9 Jupiter masses. But it’s not yet confirmed whether CC1 is a real planet or perhaps a clump of dust in the disk.
Why This Discovery Matters
This is a rare “snapshot” of planet birth. Although astronomers have seen many dusty disks with rings and gaps (thanks especially to ALMA, VLT, etc.), confirming that those gaps are being carved by newly forming planets has been much harder. WISPIT 2b is unique because:
It is embedded in a gap between rings the first time we’ve clearly seen a planet forming at that location in a multi-ringed disk.
It is actively accreting gas – the H-α emission shows material is still falling onto the planet, helping its growth.
The system is young, so it offers precious insights into early phases of planet formation when gas giants are still forming and shaping their disks.
This supports theories that planets form in protoplanetary disks, carve gaps as they grow, and gather gas to build up mass. Observing a real system in this stage gives astronomers data to test models of disk viscosity, planet-disk interaction, and how planets settle into their orbits.
What Comes Next
Astronomers plan to monitor WISPIT 2b further. Some goals include:
Tracking its motion over time to better understand its orbit. Several observation epochs already show it moves consistently with expected “Keplerian” motion.
Better measuring the second candidate, CC1, to see if it’s indeed a planet.
Detailed studies of the disk’s rings and gaps to estimate disk properties like density, viscosity, temperature.
Comparing WISPIT 2b to previously discovered protoplanets (such as those in PDS 70) to see similarities and differences.
A Baby Solar System?
WISPIT 2b offers a look back in time—something our own Solar System likely went through about 4.5 billion years ago. Jupiter and Saturn, for example, would have formed when the disk around the young Sun still had rings and gaps, and the building blocks of planets (gas, dust) were still abundant. Although WISPIT 2b is more massive and farther out than Jupiter is from the Sun, the overall picture the star, rings, forming giant planet is evocative of our deep past.
The discovery of WISPIT 2b is a milestone. It is a living protoplanet being born, seen carving its path through a multi-ringed disk while still feeding on its surroundings. As observing technology improves, we may soon see many more such “baby planets” and learn not just how planets form, but why planetary systems (including ours) come out with such diversity.