A newborn planet, formed in just 3 million years—a blink in cosmic terms—has left astronomers buzzing. Discovered 520 light-years away, this ‘infant’ world (10-20x Earth’s mass) orbits a young orange dwarf star, challenging theories about how quickly planets can form. 🌍💫
🔭 Cracking the Planet-Formation Mystery
Using NASA’s TESS telescope, researchers detected the planet, named IRAS 04125+2902 b, via the transit method. ‘This confirms planets can form way faster than we thought,’ said study lead Madyson Barber. Earth, by comparison, took 10-20 million years to form!
🪐 A Cosmic Oddball
The planet’s orbit—1/5th Mercury’s distance from the Sun—has scientists puzzled. ‘It likely migrated inward,’ Barber explained. Its unexpected location? Made possible by a warped protoplanetary disk that ‘left a window’ for astronomers to spot it. 🛸📡
Why This Matters
‘We don’t know how planets form, but this rewrites the rules,’ said co-author Andrew Mann. The discovery could reshape models of planetary evolution, especially for smaller stars. Stay tuned—this is just the start of TESS’s cosmic treasure hunt! 🔍✨
