Astronomers have confirmed two gas giant planets forming in the protoplanetary disc around the young star WISPIT 2, located 437 light-years away. The star, with a mass of 1.08 times that of the Sun and an age of about 5 million years, hosts WISPIT 2b at roughly 57 astronomical units (au) with a mass around 4.9 times Jupiter’s, and the newly identified WISPIT 2c at 14 au, estimated at 8 to 12 Jupiter masses.
Previously detecting WISPIT 2b, the team used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) with the SPHERE instrument and the VLT Interferometer (VLTI) with GRAVITY+ to image and verify WISPIT 2c. Both planets reside in clear gaps within the multiringed disc, where their gravity pulls in material, carving distinctive dust rings.
“WISPIT 2 is the best look into our own past that we have to date,” said Chloe Lawlor, a PhD student involved in the research. The system’s extended rings and gaps suggest additional planets may be forming, making it only the second known case after PDS 70 with two directly imaged forming planets.