Elias 2-24 b: Youngest known exoplanet discovered

Astronomers have confirmed the discovery of Elias 2-24 b, the youngest known exoplanet, which is estimated to be less than one million years old. The Jupiter-mass planet is located approximately 450 light-years from Earth and is still embedded within the protoplanetary disk of gas and dust from which it is forming.

Researchers, led by Andrea Bernardi of the Universidad Diego Portales in Chile, identified the planet by analyzing archived data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. The discovery challenges existing scientific models, as current theories suggest a gas giant of this size should take at least five million years to form at such a distance from its host star.

The finding suggests that current planet-formation models may be missing critical processes. The research, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, utilized observations from various instruments, including the Keck coronagraph, to confirm the planet's existence within a gap in the stellar disk.