The scientific community has always relished the opportunity to watch the birth of a planet and now, that opportunity is finally here.
What Was Discovered In Space?
Astronomers finally have the first photo depicting a baby planet being born over 370 light-years from Earth. The planet, called PDS 70b, is surrounded by a disc of dust around a star called PDS 70.
The findings were published in a study in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics on June 30.
Searching for a baby planet was deemed to be a challenge, but a large gap in the disc made this one easier to spot. The protoplanetary disc has a radius that is equal to the distance between Earth and the Sun.
"These discs around young stars are the birthplaces of planets, but so far only a handful of observations have detected hints of baby planets in them," said astronomer Miriam Keppler. "The problem is that until now, most of these planet candidates could just have been features in the disc."
The mass of this baby planet is roughly 22 au, which is larger than Jupiter. Although PDS 70b is hotter than Venus, it is also surrounded by clouds that change the radiation. It also takes 120 Earth years to complete a full orbit around PDS 70.
The star is considered to be an orange dwarf. It is not that bright, which is why it was chosen as part of this research. The mass of PDS 70 is smaller than the sun.
How Did Scientists Observe This Young Planet?
To capture a clear image of the young planet, astronomers used the SPHERE instrument on the ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). Scientists relied on the coronagraph and polarisation filters, which are powerful tools used to find planets in space.
An initial group of astronomers first observed PDS 70b as it was forming. To confirm the accuracy of the sighting, the second team of researchers analyzed the observations and provided more details. The result of this process was the clear image of a baby planet being formed in space.
Future Implications Of This Discovery
The discovery of the formation of a baby planet could help provide scientists with added context about the life of a planet. By studying the physical properties of the planet, scientists could gain a new understanding of how planets are formed. This study could help scientists spot other baby planets being born and when planets die.
