Beta Pictoris b, the youngest known planet outside our solar system, in an artist's conception. Image courtesy L. Calçada, ESO

Probably only a few million years young, Beta Pictoris b is already fully formed, despite standard models that say such a planet should take ten million years to reach “adulthood,” . The planet breaks the record once held by the planet BD 20 1790b, which clocked in at 35 million years old.

The new planet is also nearer to its parent star than any other known planet outside our solar system—about as close as Saturn is to our sun. Located about 63.4 light-years from Earth, that star, named simply Beta Pictoris, is similar to our own star. And like Beta Pictoris b, Beta Pictoris is relatively young—about 12 million years old, compared with the sun’s 4.5 billion years.

full story