ISTANBUL 

Astronomers have for the first time directly imaged a young gas giant forming inside a ring-shaped gap in a protoplanetary disk, confirming a long-standing theory about how massive planets emerge, NASA said Wednesday.

The newly spotted world, WISPIT 2b, is about five times the size of Jupiter and roughly 5 million years old — nearly a thousand times younger than Earth. It orbits a young star about 437 light-years away in the WISPIT 2 system.

What makes the discovery remarkable is its location, the planet sits squarely inside a dark ring gap in the dusty disk surrounding its host star. Scientists have long suspected such gaps form as planets grow and sweep away material. This is the first time one has been seen directly in such a setting.

The find was made by a team led by University of Arizona astronomer Laird Close and Richelle van Capelleveen, a graduate student at Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands. Van Capelleveen previously led the detection of the WISPIT 2 disk and rings using the Very Large Telescope in Chile.

WISPIT 2b, a “baby planet” is still gathering gas and dust, giving researchers a rare real-time view of how giant planets take shape. The team believes it formed exactly where it was found, rather than migrating into the disk gap, offering fresh insight into the birth of planetary systems like our own.

Adding to the intrigue, scientists also spotted a faint second object in a closer ring gap that may be another forming planet awaiting confirmation.

NASA said the discovery not only explains how massive planets carve paths in their birth disks but also provides a glimpse into the turbulent environments where planetary systems begin — including, perhaps, our own billions of years ago.