Astronomers have spotted orbiting around a young star a newborn planet that took only 3 million years to form - quite swift in cosmic terms - in a discovery that challenges the current understanding of the speed of planetary formation.

The detection of a giant planet that transits a very young star is reported in Nature. The findings indicate that this is the youngest transiting planet found to date. Scientists have previously discovered more than a dozen transiting planets (planets that pass between a star and an observer such as Earth) around stars that are 10–40 million years old.

The new exoplanet is the youngest ever discovered in the history of research and is located over 500 million light-years away from us. This discovery represents a breakthrough in studying planet development much earlier than possible.

Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery with the identification of IRAS 04125+2902 b, the youngest transiting exoplanet ever observed. This infant gas giant orbits a star estimated to be just three million years old,