A solar system in the making

Astronomers have captured a ‘solar system in the making’ by confirming a second giant planet forming around a nearby young star, called WISPIT 2, in the constellation Aquila. This discovery makes WISPIT 2 only the second system known, after PDS 70, to host multiple directly-imaged planets still embedded in their natal protoplanetary disc.

The new world, WISPIT 2c, orbits at approximately 14 times the average distance between Earth and the Sun – roughly the distance from the Sun to Saturn – while its previously detected sibling, WISPIT 2b, resides about four times farther out. Despite its closer proximity, WISPIT 2c is twice as massive as its sibling, weighing in at an estimated 8–12 Jupiter masses.

Confirmation was only made possible by using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile and its Interferometer (VLTI). Specifically, the GRAVITY+ instrument identified carbon monoxide absorption band-heads, providing a definitive signature of a young gas giant. Curiously, WISPIT 2c lacks the active accretion markers (H-alpha emission) seen in planet 2b, suggesting it may either be veiled by a dusty circumplanetary disc, or the accretion is highly varied.

With the presence of four confirmed rings and gaps visible in the disc, even more planets may yet be revealed.

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www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/ sciencepapers/eso2604/eso2604a.pdf