Astronomers said Wednesday they had observed the moment when planets start forming around a distant star for the first time, revealing a process that sheds light on the birth of our own solar system.
The new planetary system is forming around the baby star HOPS-315 -- which resembles our own Sun in its youth -- 1,300 light years from Earth in the Orion Nebula.
Young stars are surrounded by massive rings of gas and dust called protoplanetary discs, which is where planets form.