Scientists believe they have observed a planet being formed for the first time. In a study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics today, a team of astronomers explain how they captured images of a young star, AB Aurigae, 520 light-years from Earth. In a massive disc of swirling gas and dust around the star, they detected a distinct twist, which could indicate where a new planet is forming and validate a major theory about planetary formation.

The discovery was made using the European Space Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) and its SPHERE instrument. In 2019 and early 2020, astronomers from Belgium, France, Taiwan and the US obtained the deepest images of the AB Aurigae system to date. They confirmed past observations of spiral arms of gas and dust, and they discovered the critical twist, which is located about as far from the star as Neptune is from the Sun. They believe that the twist marks the spot of new planet forming.

The findings are “not too far away” from what recent computer models of the universe would predict, but it’s far enough that it could force astronomers to rethink those models and adjust their understanding of the universe’s early days.

You might see a more refined model in the relatively near future. The researchers expect the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope to provide much more detail and help find more of the “normal” galaxies, not just extreme examples. Its data could determine whether this dying galaxy was the exception to the rule or just one of many.

The team spotted the black hole using data from the Very Large Telescope array. The wealth of extra data from the Chile observatory helped them map the structure of Holm 15A in unprecedented detail, helping them run simulations to explain the galaxy’s formation and its unusually faint center. Simply speaking, the black hole is so powerful and large (its radius is about 790AU) that it has either swallowed up the closest stars or tossed them toward the galaxy’s edge.

This isn’t necessarily largest black hole detected. That distinction goes to the quasar TON 618 — indirect studies suggest its black hole could be 66 billion times the Sun’s mass. It’s still gigantic, though, and it’s about four to nine times than astronomers expected. The discovery could significantly expand humanity’s understanding of the scale of the universe, not to mention fundamentals like galaxy formation.