Cited research: Science doi:10.1126/science.1187187 (2010)

In November 2003, Anne-Marie Lagrange at the Astrophysical Laboratory of Grenoble in France and her colleagues spotted a faint object just to the north-east of the young star β Pictoris. At the time, they were unsure whether it was a planet or a background star.

Now they have made follow-up observations and found a comparable object to the star's south-west, a clear sign that it is an orbiting planet. The planet's mass is roughly nine times that of Jupiter, and it has cut a swath through the disk of debris surrounding the young star.

The authors conclude that such gas giants can form early in a star's development. They also confirm that planets are one likely cause of irregularities in a young star's disk. G.B.