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Astronomers at the University of Arizona have used a new instrument to capture detailed images of young planets orbiting the star PDS 70, located 370 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. The tool, called Magellan Adaptive Optics Xtreme (MagAO-X), allowed researchers to observe compact rings of dust around these "baby planets," which may eventually form moons.

The findings, published in The Astronomical Journal, highlight changes in planet brightness and offer insights into the turbulent early stages of planetary systems. "This is a really great breakthrough in technology," said Laird Close, a professor at Steward Observatory. He noted that the images surpass those from space telescopes like Hubble and James Webb.

MagAO-X works with the 6.5-meter Magellan Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile as an adaptive optics system. It corrects atmospheric turbulence, allowing ground-based telescopes to achieve image quality comparable to optical space telescopes. "The mirror shape-shifts at a rate comparable to adjusting an eyeglasses prescription 2,000 times per second," Close explained.

The PDS 70 system is surrounded by a disk of gas and dust with a large gap likely cleared by multiple massive planets acting as "brooms or vacuum cleaners," according to Close. The team observed two protoplanets, PDS 70 b and c, showing significant brightness changes over three years.

Close described one planet's brightness decreasing while another increased due to varying hydrogen gas flows onto them: "Essentially, one of the planets abruptly went on a diet while the other was feasting on hydrogen."

The research team plans further studies using MagAO-X to search for more protoplanets around young stars. Jared Males, Principal Investigator of MagAO-X, emphasized the importance of ground-based telescopes equipped with advanced instruments like MagAO-X: "We can always build larger telescopes on the ground than in space."

Funding for this work came from NASA's Exoplanet Research Program, with additional support from the National Science Foundation and Heising-Simons Foundation.