Astronomers uncover giant exoplanet in stellar fog
A team of astronomers just found a massive planet—with a mass between three and 10 times that of Jupiter—hidden in the dusty disk around MP Mus, a star only 13 million years old and about 280 light-years from Earth.
They made the discovery by combining data from ESA's Gaia spacecraft and ALMA radio telescope.
How the discovery was made
MP Mus was thought to have no planets, but Gaia noticed the star wobbling slightly, hinting at something big nearby.
ALMA then picked up gaps in the disk that matched where a planet would be orbiting, between one and three times Earth's distance from the sun.
This is actually Gaia's first catch of a planet inside such a young disk.
Significance of the discovery
This find shows that using both star movement and sharp space images can reveal baby planets we'd otherwise miss.
It could help scientists figure out how new worlds form—and maybe even teach us more about how our own solar system came together.