An international team of astronomers, co-led by researchers at the University of Galway, has discovered a new planet forming around a young star resembling our sun.
Named WISPIT 2b, the planet is estimated to be five million years old and is likely a gas giant similar in size to Jupiter. The findings, led collectively by Leiden University, University of Galway and the University of Arizona, were published in Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The discovery was made using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The planet was first identified during short snapshot observations of young stars.
Dr Christian Ginski, lecturer at the University of Galway and second author of the study, said, “We used these really short snapshot observations of many young stars, only a few minutes per object, to determine if we could see a little dot of light next to them that is caused by a planet. However, in the case of this star, we instead detected a completely unexpected and exceptionally beautiful multi-ringed dust disk.
“When we saw this multi-ringed disk for the first time, we knew we had to try and see if we could detect a planet within it, so we quickly asked for follow-up observations.”
It is only the second confirmed planet ever detected at this early stage around a sun-like star, and the first to be found in a multi-ringed disk. The planet was imaged in near-infrared light, revealing it glowing hot from its initial formation. A team from the University of Arizona also detected it in visible light, showing it is still growing by emitting gas.
Richelle van Capelleveen, lead author and PhD student at Leiden University, said, “Discovering this planet was an amazing experience; we were incredibly lucky. WISPIT 2, a young version of our sun, is located in a little-studied group of young stars, and we did not expect to find such a spectacular system. This system will likely be a benchmark for years to come.”
Dr Ginski praised the graduate team, saying, “We were so fortunate to have these incredible young researchers on the case. This is the next generation of astrophysicists who, I am sure, will make more breakthrough discoveries in the years to come.”
Making up the Galway team alongside Dr Ginski were PhD student Chloe Lawlor and MSc students Dan McLachlan and Jake Byrne.
