Images obtained by researchers via the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope may be the first direct evidence of a formation of a new world to be obtained, the Independent reports.
The pictures in question display a spiral of dust and gas around a star called AB Aurigae located some 520 light years away, that features a "twist" which appears to be an indication of a baby planet being born.
"Thousands of exoplanets have been identified so far, but little is known about how they form," study lead Anthony Boccaletti of the Observatoire de Paris said as quoted by the newspaper."
Study co-author Anne Dutrey, from the Astrophysics Laboratory of Bordeaux, also explained that the aforementioned "twist" is "expected from some theoretical models of planet formation".
"It corresponds to the connection of two spirals – one winding inwards of the planet’s orbit, the other expanding outwards – which join at the planet location", she said. "They allow gas and dust from the disc to accrete onto the forming planet and make it grow."