A new solar system is forming around the star WISPIT 2, located about 437 light-years from Earth, and this discovery marks only the second confirmed example of a forming planetary system beyond our solar system.

WISPIT 2’s disk appears more extensive and structured than the disk around the previously known PDS 70, with a third gap in the disk material that could indicate another forming planet.

Researchers now suggest two gas giant planets are forming around WISPIT 2, with the second planet estimated to be about ten times the size of Jupiter, and there is potential evidence for a third, Saturn-sized planet farther out in the disk.

Lead author Chloe Lawlor emphasizes that these disk structures signal ongoing planet formation and that studying such systems helps scientists understand how our own solar system formed.

Observations were made with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile’s Atacama Desert, and future observations with the Extremely Large Telescope could capture images of the hypothetical third planet.

The findings underscore the broader significance of understanding planetary formation and solar-system evolution, while also highlighting the role of science journalism and ongoing support for research.

The study, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, builds on earlier observations that had imaged a protoplanet (WISPIT 2b) within the same disk, marking progress in imaging baby planets in protoplanetary disks.

This discovery adds to the small but growing list of confirmed forming planetary systems beyond our own, reinforcing the idea that planet formation is a common cosmic process.