NASA · Space

Youngest Exoplanet Discovered

Astronomers identified Elias 2-24 b, a planet less than a million years old, as the youngest known exoplanet. It remains embedded in the gas and dust disk surrounding its young star.

Elias 2-24 b, Jupiter-mass, orbits a star 450 light-years away. Its discovery challenges planet-formation models, which struggle to explain planets forming so early. Previous record holders were over 5 million years old.

Detected using Keck Observatory data, astronomers employed a coronagraph to block the star's light, searching for planets within the star's debris disk.

The planet's existence was hinted at by ALMA and Very Large Telescope observations showing a disk gap and a faint light source, puzzling astronomers due to current formation time models.

Re-analyzing Keck data confirmed the object's planetary nature by tracking its motion, requiring combined data from multiple telescopes.

Studying Elias 2-24 b offers a chance to observe planet formation in action, providing insights into early solar system stages.

Future instruments like NASA's Roman Space Telescope are expected to make detecting such young planets easier, aiding planet formation research.

AI-samenvatting op basis van de bron.