I speak for all of us when I say space is just so flippin’ cool.

I know, I know, we’ve all seen the pics of what goes on up there while the Earth goes about its daily axial rotation – all very good stuff indeed.

Question is, have you ever seen a planet being born before your very eyes?

Nope, I didn’t think so.

That’s what these scientists were lucky enough to witness, according to The Independent:

The stunning images, taken using the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO’s) Very Large Telescope, offer an unprecedented view of the formation of planets. And the discovery could help us understand how planets are formed in much more detail than ever before.

Until now, the act of planet formation has usually been hidden by a veil of dust. But in the new study, astronomers led by a group at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have finally been able to capture a spectacularly clear image of a [dwarf] planet breaking through the ‘disc’ from which it is formed.

This is what they were able to see. Presumably, the first of other photos yet to be released:

Behold, the miracle of planet-birth, everyone.

This bouncing baby planet, christened PDS 70b, is key to revealing how worlds like ours came – and are coming – into existence:

[Scientists] will be able to explore the atmospheric and physical properties and compare them with how planets are expected to form.

“Keppler’s results give us a new window onto the complex and poorly-understood early stages of planetary evolution,” said André Müller, leader of the second team to investigate the young planet. “We needed to observe a planet in a young star’s disc to really understand the processes behind planet formation.”

But if you thought of visiting the little PDS 70b for a post-birth celebration 370 light-years away, think again. Per The New York Post:

The young planet is absolutely scorching, with a surface temperature topping 1 000 degrees Celsius.

Maybe it will cool off when it’s a little bit older.

Then again, if it goes down the Pluto route, expect it to keep on burning with angst-ridden planet fury well past adolescence.

[source:independent&nypost]