Scientists take photo of planet being born

A group of European scientists have found evidence that a planet is being born in our galaxy. They also took pictures showing a spiral cloud of gas and dust that is forming a planet.

The find was made by the European Southern Observatory, which is carrying out measurements in the universe with the Very Large Telescope, and has recently made observations of the young star AB Aurigae, which is located 520 light-years from Earth. It turns out that this star is surrounded by a spiral cloud made up of gas and dust.

Measurements were already made around AB Aurigae a few years ago, so there were already suspicions that a planet was formed. The measurements that have now been taken constitute ‘strong evidence’, the scientists said. They have published their findings in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

That evidence is mainly in a ‘twist’ found in the spiral disk. In that twist, two spirals, with opposite directions, connect to each other. According to the researchers, this is also the location where the planet must eventually be formed, because gas and dust accumulate there. Photos were taken of the measurements, showing the spirals.