WISPIT 2b Archives - Astrobiology

Left panel: Original L-band detection of CC1 in Close et al. (2025a). Middle panel: New H-band detection of WISPIT 2c following RDI. We show a confined annulus that was used for optimal stellar signal subtraction. Note that the bright arch on the right side of the annulus is the forward scattering side of the circumstellar disk. Right panel: Detection map of WISPIT 2c planet with VLTI/GRAVITY on the night of 2025-10-04. The map shows the periodogram power maps of a point source companion as a function of angular offset from the star, where the companion location corresponds to the strongest peak. -- ESO

Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

A Solar System In The Making?

by Keith CowingMarch 25, 2026March 25, 2026

Astronomers have observed two planets forming in the disc around a young star named WISPIT 2. Having previously detected one planet, the team have now employed European Southern Observatory (ESO) […]

The WISPIT 2 system as seen by the Magellan Telescope in Chile and the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona. The protoplanet WISPIT 2b appears as a purple dot in a dust-free gap between a bright, white dust ring around the star and a fainter, outer ring, orbiting at about 56 times the average distance between the Earth and the sun. The other potential planet, CC1, appears as the red object inside the dust free cavity and is estimated to be about 15 Earth-sun distances from its host star. Credit Laird Close, University of Arizona

Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

A Growing Baby Planet Photographed For First Time

by Keith CowingAugust 28, 2025August 28, 2025

A team of astronomers has detected for the first time a growing planet outside our solar system, embedded in a cleared gap of a multi-ringed disk of dust and gas.

Image of a dusty disk around a young star. Among the multiple concentric rings we see a small dot of light (indicated by a white circle). This is an image of a new-born planet, likely a gas giant similar to Jupiter in our own solar system but about 5 times more massive. These observations were taken with the ESO Very Large Telescope in near-infrared light. Credit: C. Ginski/R. van Capelleveen et al.

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Unexpected Discovery Of A Planet Forming Around A Young Star

by Keith CowingAugust 27, 2025

An international team of astronomers, co-led by researchers at University of Galway, has made the unexpected discovery of a new planet.