Astronomers Confirm Youngest Known Planet, Still Inside Birth Disk

Astronomers found a very young planet called Elias 2-24 b.

It is less than one million years old.

That makes it the youngest confirmed planet scientists have found.

The planet is about as massive as Jupiter and circles a star far from Earth.

It is still traveling through the dusty and gassy disk where it formed.

Scientists found it in a gap in that disk, which may have been created by the planet itself.

These young planets are difficult to see because dust can hide them.

Most known planets are much older because they are easier to detect.

Studying this planet may help scientists improve their ideas about how planets are born.