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Baby planet is one of youngest ever found
Image source, NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt, K. Miller (Caltech/IPAC)
A giant planet orbiting a three million year old star is one of the youngest ever discovered, according to new research.
The newly found planet, which is approximately 520 million light years away from Earth, along with its parent star, is a planet-age similar to a two-week old baby.
The new research has given scientists a glimpse into how early planets may form and it also challenges previous ideas about how quickly these planets came to be.
Why is the discovery a big deal?
Image source, Getty Images
The team who worked on the research wanted to learn more about how planets form and evolve.
They focused specifically on identifying planets at different stages of formation in order to gain a deeper understanding of the whole process.
The discovery of the new baby planet, given the catchy name IRAS 04125+2902 b, was completely unexpected.
It lies in what's known as the Taurus Molecular Cloud, which contains hundreds of newly formed stars.
Image source, Getty Images
The Taurus Molecular Cloud is a huge area of interest for astronomers but the planets in the cloud aren't often picked up by telescopes.
It's because very young star systems tend to be surrounded by dust and debris, making it tricky to see the planets inside.
The findings help shed some more light on planetary systems outside of our own.
鈥淎stronomy helps us explore our place in the Universe 鈥 where we came from and where we might be going," said Madyson Barber who is a lead author of the study and researcher at UNC-Chapel Hill.
"Discovering planets like this one allows us to look back in time, catching a glimpse of planetary formation as it happens."