Witnessing the Dawn of a New Solar System | European Southern Observatory

Witnessing the Dawn of a New Solar System | European Southern Observatory

We have observed the formation of giant planets in discs around young stars before. However, now, for the first time, we have found a planetary system that turns the clock back even further, right to when the first specks of planet-forming material were created.

In this Chasing Starlight episode, we will explore how we could be witnessing the dawn of a new Solar System. HOPS-315 is a baby star where astronomers have observed evidence for the earliest stages of planet formation with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is part of the ALMA partnership.

Credit: ESO
Directed by: L. Calçada, M. Kornmesser
Hosted by: S. Randall
Written by: A. Briggs, S. Bromilow, B. Ferreira
Editing: M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada
Videography: A. Tsaousis
Animations & footage: ESO, ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/M. McClure et al,
M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada, ESA, NASA, BBC, B. Tafreshi,
NASA Eyes on Asteroids, Vernazza et al./MISTRAL algorithm (ONERA/CNRS)
Scientific consultant: P. Amico
Filming Locations: ESO SupernovaProduced by ESO, the European Southern Observatory

Duration: 4 minutes
Release Date: July 16, 2025

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