First Confirmed Image of Newborn Planet caught with ESO'S VLT
The planet-hunting instrument SPHERE on ESO’s Very Large Telescope has detected a young planet...
...carving a path through the disc of gas and dust around the young star PDS 70.
This spectacular snapshot of planetary formation...
...is one of the most robust detections of a young planet in a disc.
Analysis of its spectrum indicated that its atmosphere is cloudy.
This detection gives us a new way to look into the complicated early stages of planetary evolution...
...and will help astronomers better understand alien worlds.
Transcribed by ESO; Translated by —