GW Ori is a star system 1,300 light years from Earth in the constellation of Orion.
It is surrounded by a huge disk of dust and gas.
It is a common feature of young star systems that are forming planets.
But interestingly, it is a system with not one star, but three.
GW Ori’s disk is split into two parts and has a massive gap in between. And the outer ring is tilted at about 38 degrees.
Researchers say that the gap in the disk could be the result of one or more planets forming in the system.
Scientists believe that a planet as massive as Jupiter is the best explanation for the gap in the dust cloud.
Although the planet itself cannot be seen, astronomers may be witnessing it carve out its orbit in the first million years of its existence.
Credit: ESO/Exeter/Kraus et al./L. Calçada
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