Astronomers just spotted the cosmic cradle of a newborn world — and it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen. A spectacular swirl of dust, light, and gravity 430 light-years away could reveal how giants like Jupiter first came to life.
Key Points at a Glance
- Researchers discovered a likely site of a giant planet forming around a distant star
- The disk shows a rare combination of rings and spiral arms, fitting models of planet formation
- The system is over 130 times larger than Earth’s orbit and may contain a planet several times Jupiter’s mass
- The team will use the James Webb Space Telescope to attempt direct imaging
Somewhere in the constellation Scorpius, about 430 light-years from Earth, a drama billions of years old is playing out again — a planet is forming from dust, gas, and gravity. Astronomers from the University of Galway have just unveiled what may be one of the most striking glimpses yet of this ancient process: a massive protoplanetary disk wrapped around a newborn star, known as 2MASS1612 or RIK113. Captured using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, this rare cosmic structure could hold the key to how planetary systems like ours first emerged.
The images, taken in near-infrared light, reveal an enormous disk shaped by the invisible hand of a forming gas giant planet. At the center, a bright ring encircles a dramatic gap, beyond which spiraling arms twist through space — the unmistakable fingerprint of a planetary body sculpting its birthplace.
“This image is something special,” says Dr Christian Ginski, astrophysicist at the University of Galway and lead author of the study. “It fits almost perfectly with what theoretical models predict a forming planet would do to its parent disk.”
The disk extends out to 130 astronomical units (AU) — that’s 130 times the Earth-Sun distance, or more than four times farther than Neptune’s orbit. The central clearing is about 50 AU across, with spiral arms and ringed structures suggesting active planet formation. Inside the disk’s inner 40 AU radius — which would completely engulf our solar system — lies what Ginski calls a “planet-forming cradle.”
Based on the disk’s structure and some faint atmospheric signatures, the team suspects a gas giant planet, perhaps several times the mass of Jupiter, is coalescing from the debris. If confirmed, it would mark one of the clearest real-world examples of a planet shaping its own environment as it grows.
The research team includes scientists from around the world, but it was notably powered by four graduate students from the University of Galway: Chloe Lawlor, Jake Byrne, Dan McLachlan, and Matthew Murphy. Their contribution to the data analysis and interpretation was critical to finalizing the results.
“It’s been an incredible kick-start to my research career,” said Chloe Lawlor. “To be part of such a major discovery this early on is inspiring.”
Dr Ginski’s group has now secured observation time with the James Webb Space Telescope. Its unmatched sensitivity may allow scientists to image the young planet directly — something never done at this early a stage. If successful, 2MASS1612 could become a model system for studying how planets and disks interact, evolve, and even migrate over time.
Why does it matter? Because understanding this process sheds light on how Earth — and everything we know — came to be. The early lives of planets are hidden from us by distance, dust, and time. But once in a while, the cosmos lifts the veil. And when it does, we see ourselves, long ago and far away.
Source: University of Galway
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