⚡Astronomers have confirmed the discovery of the youngest known planet, Elias 2-24 b.

What it means

Astronomers have confirmed the existence of Elias 2-24 b, a very young exoplanet still embedded in its protoplanetary disk. At roughly 1 million years old, it is the youngest known planet, offering a direct glimpse into the early stages of planet formation. The detection was made using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), which observed the planet's signature in the disk surrounding the star Elias 2-24.

Accuracy & sourcesSourced

The claim is based on a peer-reviewed paper published in a major astrophysical journal (likely The Astrophysical Journal Letters), making it a primary-source confirmation. The Science Daily article summarizes that paper, so the reporting sits close to the original research and is reliable for the core finding.

How new

The underlying research was published in 2022, so this is not genuinely new but rather a re-reporting or summary of that earlier confirmation.

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