Planet Seen Forming For The First Time - HD

Adaptive optics observations taken using the Large Binocular Telescope and the Magellan Adaptive Optics System reveal multiple point sources in the LkCa 15 transition disk gap. These sources are best explained by the presence of forming planets, and their positions over the last ~5 years are consistent with circular orbits in the plane of the disk.

Credit: Created by Andrew Shuta (University of Arizona), conceptualized by Laird Close (University of Arizona), disk and planet illustration modified from NASA/JPL-Caltech image, greyscale VLA disk image from Andrea Isella (Rice), all other LkCa 15 images from the LBT and Magellan telescopes, see Sallum et al. Nature 2015 for details.