Youngest exoplanet Elias 2-24b challenges planetary formation models

Astronomers have confirmed Elias 2-24b, the youngest exoplanet ever observed, estimated to be less than one million years old. This discovery challenges existing planetary formation models, which struggle to explain how such a young giant planet formed so quickly at a vast distance from its star. The planet, orbiting the star Elias 2-24 at 55 times the Earth-Sun distance, was confirmed by a team led by Andrea Bernardi using data from the W. M. Keck Observatory. Its mass is estimated between 1.9 and 4 times that of Jupiter, and its existence was verified by analyzing observations from 2018 and 2020. This finding significantly lowers the age record for directly observed exoplanets, previously held by planets around PDS 70 and WISPIT 2 at over 5 million years old. The research suggests core accretion can form giant planets faster than thought, and the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is expected to aid further discoveries.