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Planet forming around star HD 135344B

Planet forming around star HD 135344B
Planet forming around star HD 135344B This image from ESO's Very Large Telescope shows a protoplanetary disk around the star HD 135344B. The white circle shows the position of a potential forming exoplanet. The central black circle comes from a coronagraph blocking light from the young star. ESO/F. Maio et al.

Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile captured this image of the young star HD 135344B, which is 440 light-years away. The star’s light is blocked out by the dark circle in the center of the image. To its right, you can see a circled bright spot in the spirals of material that surround the star. This appears to be a giant planet just beginning to form. If confirmed, this would be the first direct observation of a planet in the process of formation.