Astronomers Discover Youngest Transiting Exoplanet Ever Observed

The 3-million-year-old planet, IRAS 04125+2902 b, offers a rare glimpse into the early stages of planetary formation and migration.

IRAS 04125+2902 b, a giant exoplanet, orbits a 3-million-year-old star located 520 light-years away in the Taurus Molecular Cloud, an active stellar nursery.
This planet, nicknamed TIDYE-1b, has a radius 10.7 times that of Earth and a mass approximately 30% of Jupiter's, making it unusually low in density with a likely inflated atmosphere.
The planet completes an orbit of its host star every 8.83 days and is visible due to the rare misalignment of the surrounding protoplanetary disk, allowing astronomers to study it using the transit method.
The discovery challenges previous theories about the speed of planetary formation, as IRAS 04125+2902 b formed significantly faster than Earth, which took 10–20 million years to develop.
Researchers believe the system's unique configuration and proximity make it an ideal candidate for studying early planetary formation and atmospheric evolution using advanced tools like the James Webb Space Telescope.