Science & technology

Scientists Witness First Moments of Planet Formation

Published JUL 16 2025

Story

Above: European Southern Observatory image of HOPS-315. Image credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al. via Space

The Facts

International researchers have observed the earliest stages of planet formation around HOPS-315, a young star located approximately 1,300 light-years from Earth in the constellation Orion, marking the first time scientists have witnessed the initial moments when planets begin to form around a star other than the Sun.
Space
Umich
ESO
Using the James Webb Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers detected silicon monoxide transitioning from a gaseous to a crystalline mineral form around the protostar, providing direct evidence of the condensation process that creates the building blocks of rocky planets.
ESO
ScienceBlog.com
ABC News
The mineral formation is occurring in a region equivalent to the asteroid belt's distance from the Sun, with the same silicon monoxide compounds found in ancient meteorites from our solar system, suggesting universal patterns in planetary formation across different star systems.
Astronomy Magazine
ABC News
ScienceBlog.com
HOPS-315 is estimated to be between 100,000 and 200,000 years old, which astronomers believe makes it an ideal analog for studying how our solar system formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago when similar crystalline minerals first condensed around the young Sun.
Daily Mail
BBC Science Focus Magazine
Space
The discovery represents what researchers describe as the "t=0" moment of planet formation, when hot gases begin solidifying into the first solid particles that will eventually grow into kilometer-sized planetesimals and ultimately into whole planets.
ScienceBlog.com
Umich
Daily Mail
Lead researcher Melissa McClure from Leiden University emphasized that this process had never been observed before in a protoplanetary disc or anywhere outside our solar system, and could open new opportunities to study early planetary formation by providing a living laboratory for cosmic archaeology.
ABC News
ESO
ScienceBlog.com

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The Spin

Narrative A

This groundbreaking discovery provides unprecedented insight into planetary formation processes that have remained hidden for decades. The ability to observe silicon monoxide condensing in real-time around HOPS-315 offers scientists a cosmic time machine to understand how Earth and other rocky planets formed. This research validates theoretical models of early solar system development and demonstrates the power of combining advanced telescopes, such as JWST and ALMA, to unlock the universe's secrets.

Nature

Narrative B

While this discovery offers valuable scientific insights, the practical implications remain limited given the enormous timescales involved in planetary formation. The observed processes will take hundreds of thousands of years to produce actual planets, making real-time study impossible. Additionally, the extreme distance of 1,300 light-years means that this system cannot provide immediate answers about the prevalence of Earth-like planets or their habitability in our cosmic neighborhood.

BBC Science Focus Magazine