The star is surrounded by a protoplanetary disk, and this disk is the first evidence of debris condensing into what will eventually become planets and other objects. Observing this early phase of evolution around a protostar will allow scientists to learn more about the formation of our own Solar System.

The astronomers observed hot minerals just beginning to solidify – the first specks of planet-forming material, the astronomers said. A gaseous disk surrounding the young star is the first stages of the assembly process to form a new planetary system, according to the paper.

While astronomers have previously seen young discs that contain newborn, massive, Jupiter-like planets, McClure says, “we’ve always known that the first solid parts of planets, or planetesimals, must form further back in time, at earlier stages.”