Astronomers have directly observed the formation of a planet within the gas and dust disk surrounding the young star HD 135344B, located approximately 440 light-years away in the constellation Lupus. This observation provides unprecedented visual evidence of giant planet formation. The discovery was made using the Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph (ERIS) instrument on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile.
The protoplanetary disk of HD 135344B features prominent spiral arms, theorized to be sculpted by the gravitational pull of nascent planets. The newly detected object, estimated to be twice the mass of Jupiter, is positioned at the base of one of these spiral arms, aligning with models predicting that a forming planet would create such features as it accretes material. The object orbits its host star at a distance comparable to Neptune's orbit around our Sun. This direct detection marks a significant advancement, as previous observations of similar spiral structures were considered indirect indicators of forming planets, with the light from potential protoplanets never having been directly captured before.
In a parallel study, the same ERIS instrument was used to examine the V960 Mon system, another young star. Findings revealed a compact, bright object near a spiral arm, which could represent a forming planet or a brown dwarf. This observation also offers direct evidence of an object born from gravitational collapse, further illuminating diverse pathways of planetary birth. These discoveries, detailed in publications like Astronomy & Astrophysics and The Astrophysical Journal Letters, highlight the power of high-resolution observations, providing direct evidence for planet formation and new perspectives on the dynamics of protoplanetary disks.