Our solar system was the only one that scientists knew of, but NASA found something different recently. Our planet is relatively new to the Universe, as the giant black cosmos started to form from a rapid expansion 13.9 billion years ago. The dark age, the first black holes, reionization, and the formation of galaxies led to our planet being created through a series of impacts that formed the world. Now, scientists can actively see the same process happening.
New solar systems incoming
The process of the formation of our planet happened exclusively because of the sun. The gravitational power of the big star holds every planet in its position, but it is also a magnet to other cosmic bodies with less stellar mass. On the other hand, NASA cannot tell precisely how everything happened – but a new solar system could.
The formation would be the same: a big star at the center and cosmic bodies in the surrounding area. And now they can explain. NASA has observed for the first time a cosmic birth of a solar system – this is the first time since 1700, when three scientists created the hypothesis of the stellar system.
NASA found rocky planets forming around a star
NASA has found the earliest signs of rocky planets forming around a young, sun-like star—offering a rare look at the birth of a planetary system, similar to how our own solar system started.
A NASA team from Leiden Observatory, led by Melissa McClure, has spotted something never seen before: the earliest signs of rocky planets forming around a young star. Their observations suggest that the first steps toward building planets like Earth are happening right now, around this distant star.
This discovery came after a joint effort between NASA’s Webb Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory in Chile. The telescopes focused on a young star named HOPS-315, sitting roughly 1,370 light-years from Earth. This star is still in its infancy—only around 100,000 to 200,000 years old—and is expected to grow into a star like our sun.
By analyzing the gas disk surrounding, the team found traces of silicon monoxide gas and tiny crystals made of silicate minerals—the same basic materials that likely formed the first solid pieces in our solar system over 4.5 billion years ago.
The difference from other formations observed
What makes this discovery stand out is that NASA had never spotted these hot minerals taking shape around young stars before. Until now, no one knew if this was something unique to our solar system or just a normal part of how planets form. McClure’s research points to the second option—it’s probably a common step in building planets across the universe.
In addition, astronomers found a gap in the outer part of the gas disk, which allowed them to observe deeper into the system. The bright central region resembled a glowing spot in the darkness, captured by the ESO’s ALMA telescopes. With a gas disk as massive as the one surrounding HOPS-315, researchers believe it might one day host several planets—just like our own solar system.
The trailblazers in this discovery
Scientists from Purdue University, including co-author Merel Hoff, hope this discovery will lead to the identification of more young systems in their early stages. Studying them could help explain how common Earth-like planets are in the universe.
In 1700, three scientists came up with the Nebular Hypothesis as the explanation for the formation of our solar system – and others as well. Emanuel Swedenborg, Immanuel Kant, and Pierre-Simon Laplace pushed each other’s discoveries and theories through the 18th century, and eventually, the theory was born.