First Real-Time Observation of Planet Formation: Astronomers Capture Birth of Protoplanet AB Aurigae b
An international team of leading astronomers has made a groundbreaking discovery—they successfully observed, in real-time, the formation of a new planet within a young star system.
This extensive research focused on the protoplanet AB Aurigae b, which is actively accumulating material within its disk, growing right before our eyes.
Using the MUSE spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope in Chile, scientists detected hydrogen alpha emissions from AB Aurigae b, indicating hot gas spiraling inward, fueling the nascent planet.
The planet is over four times the size of Jupiter and is situated at an astonishing distance of about 93 astronomical units from its star, roughly three times farther than Neptune from the Sun.
Data gathered by Japanese researchers revealed that the hydrogen emission pattern suggests a process of ongoing gas accretion rather than dispersal, providing crucial evidence of the long-term growth phase of a planet, a phenomenon previously rarely observed.
This marks the first instance where such clear signs of accumulated mass on a forming planet have been documented, offering insights into the early stages of gas giant formation.
The system, only about two million years old, challenges traditional models of planetary formation, especially given the planet’s remote location, which suggests it may have formed through gravitational collapse of dense gas and dust clumps, rather than core accretion as with Jupiter and Saturn.
This discovery sheds light on the mechanisms that drive planetary growth in young systems and indicates that active material transfer from the circumstellar disk to the planet is vital during these formative phases.
Future observations aim to distinguish between emissions originating from the planet itself and those reprocessed by the surrounding disk, as well as to identify similar processes around other young stars.
Recent studies have also captured objects like WISPIT-2b, a planet forming rings around its star, confirming theories about the influence of planets on protoplanetary disks and the formation of gaps within them.