Astronomers have confirmed Elias 2-24 b as the youngest known exoplanet: it is less than 1 million years old and roughly Jupiter’s mass. Still forming in its star’s disk of gas and debris, the planet lies about 450 light-years from Earth.
Researchers combined archival observations from the W. M. Keck Observatory taken in 2018 and 2020 to track the object’s movement, confirming it behaved like a planet rather than a background star or imaging artifact. They found it in a prominent disk gap where scientists expected a forming planet; the study was published Wednesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The previous record was shared by four planets: two orbiting PDS 70 and two orbiting WISPIT 2, all more than 5 million years old. Co-author Lucas Cieza said existing planet-formation models struggle to explain Elias 2-24 b; the discovery could offer a rare look at how giant planets form.
