ESO’s Very Large Telescope has spotted WISPIT 2b, a newborn planet 430 light-years away, nestled inside a stunning multi-ringed protoplanetary disk.
In a cosmic breakthrough, astronomers using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile have discovered a young exoplanet named WISPIT 2b, orbiting a star 430 light-years from Earth.
What makes the find extraordinary is its location: the planet is embedded within a multi-ringed protoplanetary disk — a swirling, gas-and-dust structure that acts as a celestial cradle for newborn worlds.
Scientists say this rare observation offers a direct glimpse into the process of planet formation, confirming theories that planets carve paths through such dusty disks as they grow.
WISPIT 2b could help astronomers unravel how gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn once formed in our own Solar System, providing a window into both our past and the future of planetary science.
