For the first time ever, scientists have observed a newborn planet being formed.
The Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile has been able to snap the first ever images of a planet being born, the European Southern Observatory has confirmed.
The images offer an unprecedented look on how new planets are formed in highly detail.
More sings of life on #Marshttps://t.co/NyCV2i6lQ2 #CuriosityRover #Nasa #Space
— The Life Pile (@thelifepile) June 8, 2018
Previously, the formation of new planets was hidden behind clouds of dust. But during a new study led by researchers at Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have been able to capture crystal clear images of a planet breaking through the disk of dust it being formed from.
In the image above, you can see the new planet in the form of a bright light just to the right of the black part in the center of it. The planet has been named PDS 70b.
It is being formed some three billion kilometers from the center of its solar system, about the same distance as between Uranus and the Sun.
Ambitious as always https://t.co/R5ga9YYj93 #RichardBranson #VirginGalactic #SpaceTravel #JeffBezos #SpaceShipTwo
— The Life Pile (@thelifepile) May 29, 2018
The picture was taken with the help of coronagraphy, a method that block the super bright light of the central star the planet is forming next to.
As the first ever image of its kind, it will offer researchers rare insights into the how planets come to exist, and will give them the opportunity to test out previous theories.
