European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, what looks like a ripple in space appears to be the result of an explosion, but in fact, it is a rare sight of a newborn planet devouring gas and dust as it travels within a dusty disk surrounding its host star.
The Very Large Telescope is one of the greatest modern astronomical observatory projects. It is located on Mount Paranal in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of the world's pristine spots for astronomical observation. It consists of four main telescopes, each with a mirror diameter of 8.2 meters, in addition to four auxiliary telescopes with a diameter of 1.8 meters.
According to a statement issued by the European Southern Observatory, the new image represents the first clear observation of a newborn planet within a multi-ringed stellar disk.
Very Large Telescope (ESO)
planetary disks
These disks, known as protoplanetary disks, are made of gas and dust and surround young stars. They often feature rings that scientists believe are a sign of nascent planets carving out their gaps as they grow.
Planets form in these dusty disks around stars. Initially, tiny particles in the gaseous, dusty disk begin rotating and colliding. Gravity causes these particles to gradually coalesce into larger clumps.
These clumps pull more matter into them, turning them into planetary embryos. Over time, a newborn planet is formed that continues to "steal" material from the disk until it is fully grown, and then appears to clear its orbit over millions of years.
The discovered planet, dubbed Wisbit 2b, has a mass about five times that of Jupiter.
