Scientists discover a 1-million-year-old planet, the youngest ever seen
The youngest planet ever found is less than 1 million years old and could reveal how giant worlds form. Read more in Gazeta do Povo.
TL;DR
- Elias 2-24 b, the youngest planet discovered, is less than 1 million years old and has a mass similar to Jupiter.
- It is still embedded in the gas and dust disk surrounding its young star, Elias 2-24, located 450 light-years away.
- This discovery provides direct evidence of a planet forming within its natal disk, a phase rarely observed.
- The planet's rapid formation challenges existing models, suggesting accelerated processes for giant planet birth.
- Observations from ALMA, VLT, and Keck, utilizing a coronagraph, were crucial in confirming the planet's existence within a gap in the protoplanetary disk.