Astronomers find planet forming near young star

Astronomers have discovered a likely site of planet formation around a young star, potentially a gas giant several times the mass of Jupiter. The discovery was made by an international team led by the University of Galway. Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, researchers observed a highly structured disk of dust and gas around the star 2MASS1612. The disk features rings and spiral arms, suggesting the presence of a forming planet. The team plans to use the James Webb Space Telescope to attempt to directly image the potential planet. The study involved researchers from multiple countries and included contributions from University of Galway graduate students.