A new planet is being born about 520 light years away from Earth; astronomers believe after finding direct evidence for the first time. 

A dense disc of dust and gas has been spotted surrounding a young star called AB Aurigae, reported Guardian.

The researchers observed a spiral structure with a ‘twist’ near the centre suggesting a new world in the process of forming. The observation was made using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) located in Chile.

Images captured by the VLT show ED“a stunning spiral of dust” caused by the baby planet trying to “kick” the gas, Dr Anthony Boccaletti, who led the study from the Observatoire de Paris at the PSL University, in France observed. 

The same instrument was used in 2018 to take photos of another infant planet, thought to be just 5.4m years old, the Guardian report said.

The scientists have said that the swirling disc was one of the telltale signs of the star system being born in the constellation of Auriga. 

The surrounding gas and dust are shaped into a spiral arm as the new planet rotates around AB Aurigae. The very bright yellow region near the centre of the spiral is the twist, which lies at about the same distance from the star as Neptune from the sun, the Guardian report said.

However, clear images of young discs to see these twists have not been captured by the astronomers yet. 

The observations were reported in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal.