Second Forming Planet Confirmed in WISPIT 2 Disk

Overview

• Astronomers confirmed WISPIT 2c, a forming gas giant embedded in the WISPIT 2 system’s protoplanetary disk, using ESO’s VLT and the VLTI instrument GRAVITY+.
• The planet’s glow and spectrum separate cleanly from the disk’s scattered light, letting the team measure key traits inside the ring of gas and dust where it is still growing.
• Estimates place WISPIT 2c at roughly 8 to 12 times Jupiter’s mass on an inner orbit relative to previously imaged WISPIT 2b, consistent with the gap it has carved in the disk.
• The system now stands as only the second known case with multiple directly detected forming planets after PDS 70, creating a new benchmark to study early system architecture.
• Images also show extra rings and gaps that could mark at least one more, possibly Saturn‑mass, planet, and teams plan targeted follow‑ups with current VLT tools and future ELT imaging, as reported by Chloe Lawlor’s group in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.