A Newborn Planet: NASA Telescope Uncovers the Youngest Exoplanet Ever Detected

If on the scale of the Universe, we are all different from what surrounds us, one concept brings us all together: the cycle of life. Whether we are a plant, an animal, a human being, a planet or even a star, we are born, we live and then we die out. On very different time scales, of course. TIDYE-1b or IRAS 04125+2902 b, is a young planet, very young even, and NASA was able to get its hands on it whereas usually, this kind of observation is almost impossible. In a press release, the American space agency even called it a “baby planet”.

A planet 1500 times younger than Earth…

Our planet was born following the event of the solar nebula which gave birth to the Sun, but also to the other planets of the Solar System. This happened about 4.5 billion years ago.

Compared to our good old Earth, TIDYE-1b is a real cosmic baby. Indeed, thanks to data from the TESS telescope (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), astronomers were able to estimate the age of the planet. It would be “only” 3 million years old.

An incredible observation which will allow scientists to understand a little more the process of planet formation and then be able to apply it to our system.

…and 11 times wider

From generation to generation, children are getting older and older. It would seem that on a cosmic scale this is also the case. Indeed, during their observations, the astronomers responsible for the discovery of the planet TIDYE-1b noticed two things:

• it is less dense than the Earth
• but, this planet has a diameter 11 times larger than our celestial body

This would mean, even if it is perhaps an estimate which should become more and more precise over time, that the diameter of TIDYE-1b is approximately 140,316 kilometers.

Which also means that in addition to being much larger than Earth, the planet also known as IRAS 04125+2902 b (the other name is a little easier to remember) is also a little larger than the largest planet in the Solar System: Jupiter. Whose diameter is 139,822 kilometers according to Cnes. A giant baby planet.

Why is observing such a young cosmic body normally impossible?

Impossible, or even very difficult for that matter.

This is particularly due to the fact that a planet, when it is born, does not come into the world in an immaculate white room where visibility is perfect. No. When a planet is born, it takes place in an immense cloud of gas and dust, making visibility less.

Over time, often after several tens of millions of years, the cloud eventually fades because the dust and gas contained therein were able to accumulate to form the planet.

This is what makes the observation of the exoplanet TIDYE-1b even more extraordinary. Its very young age should not allow it to appear so easily in the TESS telescope.

What future for this planet?

We've barely been born when we're already thinking about our future. It is still too early to have certainty regarding the evolution of the young exoplanet. Two hypotheses were put forward by the researchers who made the discovery and whose work was published in the journal Nature on November 20, 2024.

Thus, at present and based on the first observations of the planet, “it would not be a gas giant like Jupiter is”. However, depending on her development, she could, once her training is completed:

• become a gas planet like a “mini-Neptune”
• become a telluric (rocky) planet like a “super-Earth” we can read in the NASA press release.

These two types of planets “are the most common in our galaxy, although none of these types are found in the Solar System” concludes the American space agency.

Source: NASA