Astronomers are witnessing the birth of a solar system around WISPIT 2.

Astronomers confirmed a second giant planet forming around the nearby, 5-million-year-old star WISPIT 2, adding to an earlier-detected gas giant inside a dusty disk marked by rings and gaps.

Astronomers confirmed a second giant planet forming within the dusty disk around the young, nearby star WISPIT 2. The detection follows an earlier report that the system already hosted one massive Jupiter-like planet. Researchers used instruments on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, including SPHERE for imaging and GRAVITY+ for spectroscopy, to study the new object. The system is about 5 million years old and shows rings, gaps, and a central cavity often linked to planet formation. Key findings: - Two forming giant planets have been identified in the WISPIT 2 system, described as WISPIT 2b and WISPIT 2c. - The previously known planet lies at roughly 57 AU from the star; the newly confirmed planet appears near 14 AU. - Mass estimates in the reported paper put WISPIT 2b at about five times Jupiter’s mass and WISPIT 2c at about two times Jupiter’s mass. - SPHERE captured the object's image and GRAVITY+ split its light into a spectrum, with signs of carbon monoxide in that spectrum. - Tracking of the object’s position helped rule out a chance background alignment and early measurements hint at movement, though an orbit remains unconfirmed. - The disk’s rings and gaps, plus a narrower outer gap, led researchers to suggest a possible additional planet of lower mass might be present. Summary: The observations offer a direct look at multiple giant planets forming in the same young system, a situation previously seen only in a few cases such as PDS 70. More observations and continued spectroscopy are expected to refine orbital details, probe atmospheres, and study how the planets interact with the surrounding disk; the timeline and exact next steps are undetermined at this time.