Astronomers Capture Two Giant Planets Forming Around Young Star WISPIT 2

Astronomers have caught two giant planets forming around WISPIT 2, an infant star just 5.4 million years old, located 437 light-years away in the constellation Aquila. Published March 24 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the study delivers an unprecedented view of a solar system taking shape in real time. Scientists say the arrangement mirrors our own early solar system, making WISPIT 2 the clearest window yet into Earth's deep cosmic origins.

Two Worlds Still Taking Shape

According to the new findings the WISPIT 2b and WISPIT 2c planets are both gas giants and heavier than Jupiter. WISPIT 2b was discovered in 2025 and has five times Jupiter's mass and is 60 times Earth's distance from the Sun. The newly discovered WISPIT 2c is twice as massive and four times closer to the Sun. The two planets are creating observable holes in their surrounding gas and dust disks due to their gravity, attracting matter to themselves. The discovery of WISPIT 2c was made using ESO's Very Large Telescope SPHERE imager and the upgraded GRAVITY+, which identified carbon monoxide in its atmosphere.

A Rare Laboratory for Planetary Science

WISPIT 2 is only the second such system, after PDS 70, where two forming planets have been directly seen. Unlike PDS 70, WISPIT 2 has a much more extended disk and visible rings and gaps, suggesting the presence of further forming worlds. A third, Saturn-mass world is suspected to be forming in an outer gap and could potentially be seen by the Extremely Large Telescope, which is being built in Chile's Atacama Desert. "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to see a whole planetary system forming before our eyes," says lead author Chloe Lawlor of the University of Galway.