Astronomers Discover Forming Gas Giant WISPIT 2b 430 Light Years Away

An international team of astronomers, co-led by researchers from the University of Galway, Leiden University, and the University of Arizona, has discovered a new gas giant planet named WISPIT 2b in an early stage of formation around a young star similar to the Sun. The planet, estimated to be about five million years old and roughly five times the mass of Jupiter, was detected about 430 light-years away in the constellation Aquila using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile. This discovery is notable as only the second confirmed detection of a planet at such an early evolutionary stage around a young Sun-like star, following a similar finding in 2018. The team initially observed a complex multi-ringed dust disk surrounding the star and then identified the planet within it through near-infrared imaging, which captures the planet's residual heat from its formation. The finding emerged from a five-year observational project aimed at understanding the prevalence of wide-orbit gas giant planets around stars of different ages. This breakthrough enhances the understanding of planetary formation processes and exemplifies the power of cutting-edge observational techniques in exoplanet research.