Astronomers have confirmed the youngest known planet outside our solar system. The planet, called Elias 2-24 b, is less than one million years old. This may sound ancient, but it is extremely young in space. Earth, for example, is about 4.5 billion years old.

Elias 2-24 b is an exoplanet, which means it travels around a star other than our Sun. It is located about 450 light-years from Earth and has about the same mass as Jupiter. However, it is much farther from its star than Jupiter is from the Sun.

The baby planet is still growing inside a large disk of gas and dust around its young star. It is collecting material from the disk and building its atmosphere. Scientists found it in a dark gap in the disk. This supports the idea that growing planets can create gaps as they gather material and move around their stars.

Confirming the planet was not easy. Researchers studied observations made by the Keck Observatory in Hawaii in 2018 and 2020. They used improved computer methods to find a weak signal in the old data. Information from the Very Large Telescope and the ALMA observatory in Chile also helped prove that the object was a planet.

The discovery surprised scientists because current models suggest that a Jupiter-sized planet should need about five million years to form at Jupiter’s distance from a star. Elias 2-24 b is younger and much farther away from its star. This means that giant planets may form faster than researchers previously believed.

Most known exoplanets are already billions of years old. Elias 2-24 b gives scientists a rare chance to watch a planet while it is still being born. By studying this unusual world, they may learn more about how planets—and perhaps our own solar system—first developed.