There may be another planet in the universe around the size of Neptune or Saturn, said a study by astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

According to the findings of the report, the planet could be around one to three million years old, ANI reported.

Planets are created in protoplanetary discs or bands of gas and dust encircling newly formed young stars. According to astronomers, it is very challenging to observe planetary birth and development in these settings as planets are too dim to be visible.

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Feng Long, project leader and postdoctoral scholar at the Center for Astrophysics, said it has been possible to find young planets under such circumstances only in one or two situations as they are encased in substantial amounts of gas and dust. Instead, astronomers have attempted to look for signs of new planets beneath the dust.

As part of her study, Long revisited the LkCa 15 protoplanetary disc in the Taurus constellation situated 518 light years away. Studying new, high-resolution ALMA data on LkCa 15 from 2019, Long found two faint characteristics that were not there earlier. Long observed that the object’s placements and sizes were consistent with the presence of a planet.

The dusty ring she discovered had two distinct, brilliant clusters of material circling within it at about 42 astronomical units distance from the star, which is equal to 42 times the distance between Earth and the Sun. The material appeared as a small clump and a bigger arc.

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With the help of computer simulations, Long analysed the data and determined what was accumulating the material. Her observations showed that the objects’ sizes and placements were consistent with the presence of a planet.

“This arc and clump are separated by around 120 degrees,” she said.

Her findings suggest that the planet is between one and three million years old and is around the size of Neptune or Saturn.

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)